Fall of Evangelion: You Will (Not) Survive
by Kaiju Overlord
Summary: After Shinji Ikari was forced to end the final Angel, Tabris, he falls into a serious state of depression and attempts to flee reality. With Asuka Langley Soryu still in a coma as well, disaster couldn't have come at a worse time. However, it is no random coincidence. Gendo Ikari's plans, connected deviously with those of Seele's, have awakened an ancient Guardian of Earth: Gojira!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue - Cries of War**

2050.

The GeoFront, beneath Tokyo-3, Japan.

Two titans clash. Shinji Ikari is out of options; he must end his opponent. Within the hull of his great weapon, Evangelion Unit-01, his synchronized movements command his cybernetic ally into combat. The cyborg is directed to bash her lone surviving fist against the skull of their enemy, attempting to shatter it with brute force. With time not on their side, Shinji commands his Eva to dig her fingers deep into the hollowed eye sockets of their grounded foe, ripping outwards in an attempt to decapitate the brute. Zeruel, the Angel of Strength, simply bides his time.

Then it happens. The tide of battle turns. The Eva grows black; silenced. It is out of power. Shinji tries desperately to get his Eva to move, but it is no use; the hulking mass of flesh and metal will not move. Seizing the opportunity, Zeruel wraps his long arm around the motionless body's skull, raising it high into the air and throwing it back. The lifeless body crashes down into the pyramid-shaped structure of Nerv Headquarters situated behind Zeruel's body, unable to retaliate. The triumphant Angel rises, approaching his silenced enemy. He knows instinctively that, although the Eva itself is out of power, it will never fully be destroyed if its core remains intact. Lashing outwards with his blade-like right arm, Zeruel severs the metal from the Eva's silenced bosom, gouging deep into her soft flesh and causing blood to erupt from the open wound. His eye sockets flash a blinding yellowish light and a piercing beam rockets outwards, crashing into the Eva's chest with a massive explosion. When the smoke clears, the metal alloy that once protected the pilot from harm has completely burned away, exposing the helpless pilot's Entry Plug to the wrath of an angered deity. Zeruel raises both his arms, striking repetitively at the Eva's Core, where the Entry Plug and the cyborg's only hope of life resides. Shinji continues to try and awaken his Eva, but his efforts are fruitless. As his final wall of defense begins to crack around him, he realizes that death has final come to claim him.

Then, the tide of battle again sways. Evangelion Unit-01, completely drained of power, roars to life. No quantifiable force can give understanding to her movement; it is simply will. She extends her right hand outwards to block the repetitive attack of her foe. As Zeruel's arm comes down upon the Eva's hand, her fingers tear straight through the Angel's arm as the two appendages come into contact, sparks flying as the unearthly allow gives way to the greater force. The Eva clenches her fist, grabbing ahold of what little remains of the Angel's shattered arm. She thrusts her arm back, forcing the trapped Angel straight into her body. Her jaw clamps snap, unable to keep her unfathomable strength contained, and her ghastly teeth become exposed from beyond her snarling gums. Her foot rises, colliding into the Angel's chest and sending the beast rocketing backwards into the dirt, it's entire arm detaching from the force of the blow. The Eva rises to its feet, a silenced entity once again living. She raises the shredded remains of the Angel's arm up to the stub where her left arm used to be. The two tissue fragments reach for each other and the Eva's arm begins to reconstruct. Using body parts from her enemy, Eva Unit-01 synthesizes herself a new arm, payback for the one she lost to the brute she now faces. The Angel rises, prepared to retaliate against his resurrected foe. Before he can enact his rage, Unit-01 raises her right hand, then quickly thrusts it downwards. With this action, she sends her Absolute Terror Field outwards in a devastating attack against her foe. The energy field pierces Zeruel's own A.T. Field, gouging deep into his soft flesh. Blood showers the battlefield as the Angel's body is torn asunder. The Angel collapses to the floor, mortally wounded. The Eva snarls with a primordial rage. Primal instincts kick in and she assumes a quadrupedal stance as she approaches her fallen enemy, confident in her movements. Zeruel charges his eye beam in a final desperate attempt to keep himself alive, but the Eva stifles his pitiful attempt at life, crushing his skull under her right palm. With her opponent slain, the Eva has won, but she is not finished with the corpse. She bends forwards, digging her teeth into the Angel's abdomen and tearing out a huge chunks of flesh. She begins to devour her fallen enemy. Unholy blood flows from the body as organs spill out into the cold night air. The Eva searches for something in particular as she mutilates the corpse with her teeth. The organ she seeks is small, but unmistakable. She quickly unearths her prize from beyond massive heaps of decaying flesh, digging her jaws deep into the hollowed-out body to reach it. She tears it out, voraciously consuming the soft flesh of the S2 Engine. Having quenched her thirst for blood, she looks onwards upon the horizon with an ominous emerald glow in her eyes. She raises herself onto her hind legs as her muscles begin to bulge. They force themselves to the surface, splintering the metal allow put in place to contain them to pieces. She is free, and all will fear her name. She roars outwards, uttering her hellish voice to the skies. The call is deafening.

In the abyss, he sleeps. Undisturbed, his regal body lays dormant below the waves. He wishes not to be interrupted by the likes of man, hoping their mortal blunders will not force him to return. Unfortunately, it is his destiny to rise again.

The waves crash above him, a melody to his methodical slumber. Although in a state of in animation, his senses are no less acute. He can hear every whisper amongst the depths, smell every drop of blood spilt, sense any disturbance created. Below the frigid blackness of the ocean's vastness, his fire keeps him warm.

The blissful silence is shattered. He can sense a disturbance, one that has been growing in power. An unholy call is heard. It is unmistakable; undeniable—a demon. His glowing fiery eyes crack open, and the darkness is instantly illuminated. The rage of the king has been roused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1 - An Early Appointment**

7:10 A.M. March 30th, 2051.

Tokyo-3, on the northern shore of Lake Ashinoko, Japan.

It was a cold and dreary Thursday morning. A little past seven, my appointment was at an outrageous hour, but it was the only time the psychologist had available. He was a very busy man. I begrudgingly exited my car into the cold embrace of the cloudy, early-morning air. I am by no means a morning person of any sort, and that day was no exception. The signs were easily decipherable. My hair, which was still in disorder from my usual turbulent sleep, was enough of an indicator to convince anyone. To make matters worse, my face was unprepared for the day, nor was I clothed properly. I didn't have much time, for as it was I had slept in too late, so I just threw on whatever I could find in a timely fashion. I was a complete mess.

The door swung upon and I pushed my way into the room.

"This better be worth it for Shinji. Getting me up at this hour, who the hell does he think he is?" I snorted under my breath. I slowly made my way to the front desk, pausing for a moment before I spoke to the office attendant. "I have an appointment for 7:00 with Dr. Katashi."

"Miss Misato Katsuragi, is it?" the lady at the front desk kindly asked.

"Yes, that's me." I replied impatiently.

"Yes, the psychologist will be out shortly. He's just finishing up with his last patient." the lady kindly stated.

"Thank you." I begrudgingly replied, as if common custom forced me to do so. I tried to act hospitable but my spoiled demeanor ruined my entire mood, and there was no way of hiding it. It was obvious I wasn't happy to be there. I sat down with a muffled thud on the soft couch in the waiting room as if I was ready to return to my disturbed slumber right where I was. I put my arm on the elbow rest, placing my tired head on my openly accepting palm and let out a large yawn. I tried to mask it as a sigh, but it was already too pronounced. The lady at the front desk turned her eyes towards me for but a moment, not wanting to get distracted from her work. She returned her gaze to her computer screen almost immediately, rolling her eyes at my disorder. She said nothing.

"This is so stupid. Getting up at such a god-forsaken time should be banned! Why the hell would anyone even dream of getting up this early for a dumb appointment? It's ridiculous! Shinji better get some serious benefits from this guy..." I mumbled to myself. No time at all passed before the psychologist opened the door to his office, letting out his previous patient with a warming farewell.

"Thank you so much for your time." The young woman that exited the room said.

"Oh, it was my pleasure. You can schedule your next appointment with Stephanie here." The psychologist explained.

"Ah, you must be Ms. Katsuragi. Pleased to meet you." The psychologist said as he noticed me. He openly extended his hand as a greeting. I slowly rose, still a little drowsy, and sluggishly accepted the man's hand, shaking it with a weak grip.

"Indeed I am. And you must be Dr. Hiroto Katashi." I replied, trying to perk myself up and be a bit more professional.

"That is what people call me." the doctor replied humorously, "You work for Nerv, am I correct?"

"Yes I do, but what I do there is strictly classified." I declared, making sure to get the point across that I was not interested in talking about my job.

"Fine by me. I don't concern myself with the affairs of others... unless it pertains to my work, of course!" Dr. Katashi said jokingly. Noticing my impatience, he quickly cut to the chase. "Please, come in." He warmly beckoned me to enter his office.

"My pleasure." I replied as I entered the room, trying to be hospitable, "You've got a lot of nerve scheduling my appointment for such an early time. I'm not a morning person, you know."

"I can tell." Dr. Katashi replied, observing my disorder. He closed the door to his office behind himself, offering a seat to me. I was quick to tumble back down into my comfy seat, and the doctor was close behind, though his descent was more elegant; more professional. "So, you called about your son?"

"No, he's not my son, I'm just his guardian. You're referring to Shinji." I replied.

"Ah, yes! That's what you said his name was. Shinji Ikari… he is one of the pilots for those Evangelion doohickies you concern yourself with, right?" Dr. Katashi asked.

"Yes, he is, but I can't say more on the matter."

"That's alright, I don't need to know. As for Shinji, you told me that he has been acting strange?"

"Yes. Shinji hasn't talked to anyone in weeks and he's always running away from home. He's done this sort of thing before, but never for such a prolonged period of time." I explained.

"Hmm, that's peculiar. He most likely has a case of depression, perhaps even an extreme case, considering that you said he does this often." Dr. Katashi stated.

"That was obvious…" I said snobbishly.

"Yes, well, I am not here to diagnose, I am here to fix the problem."

"Can you fix the problem, doctor?" I asked, now starting to get interested.

"I believe I can, yes. Do you happen to have Shinji with you now, I would like to see him." Dr. Katashi asked.

"Well, um, no, I don't. You see, he sort of ran away again, so I have to find him." I reluctantly replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, when you find him, just bring him on your next visit and we'll talk." Dr. Katashi stated, a little let down by the absence of Shinji.

"So, is that it?" I asked, as if I were pressed for time.

"Unless you want to tell me something that you didn't tell me on the phone." Dr. Katashi replied.

"No, I think you pretty much got the whole story."

"In that case, then yes, it seems we are finished here. It's a shame that we cannot talk more, but there's not much else I can do without Shinji. It was almost as if you didn't have to come this morning."

"That makes me feel so much better..." I snorted. It was quite unnerving to hear from the doctor himself that my endeavors here were useless without Shinji's presence, making my already enraging early wake-up utterly pointless. "I will try to get him back here as soon as I can."

"Please do. The sooner we can get help to Shinji, the better."

"Agreed."

"Yes, well, it was an honor meeting you Ms. Katsuragi." Dr. Katashi said as he extended his hand for a farewell shake.

"Please, call me Misato." I replied as I reluctantly took the doctor's hand, not particularly impressed by his current performance.

"You can call Stephanie whenever you'd like to arrange your next appointment, since you don't know where Shinji is at the moment. You do have our phone number, correct?"

"Yes, I do. Alright, thank you, I'll make sure to do that." I quickly blurted randomly as I hastily exited the building.

Misato pushed her way through the door and back out into the cold morning air, trying to get to her car as fast as possible. Dr. Katashi shook his head and laughed, turning to Stephanie as he did so.

"Do we really have to offer services to her?" Stephanie Goodman asked the doctor, making sure the door was closed and Misato gone before she spoke. The doctor finished his chuckle and let out a faint sigh.

"A doctor cannot chose his patients, he can only hope to help them as much as possible." he declared, "Make sure to call me when my next patient arrives."

"Sure thing." Stephanie replied. Dr. Katashi turned to prepare his office for his next customer but, before he could even change direction, the door chimed open and his next patient eagerly pushed through the door.

"You're early, Mr. Buckingham."

"I like to be punctual." the man declared, "As they say, if you're on time, you're late, so better be early!" Dr. Katashi chuckled before he responded.

"Good man! So, how has little Johnnie been doing?"

"He's getting better, all thanks to you!" Mr. Buckingham stated with much pride in his voice as he patted the back of his son's head with his left palm.

"You give me too much credit, but I thank you!" Dr. Katashi replied, bowing as he did, "Alright, Johnnie, come in, let's talk." The doctor beckoned Mr. Buckingham's young son. The two entered his private office space, disappearing behind the egg-white door. With that, Mr. Buckingham took a seat and cracked open a magazine, crossing his left leg over his right as he began to read. All once again became peaceful and the room feel silent, just as Stephanie liked it.

I did not like the cold. I quickly rushed to my car and jumped in. I placed my keys in the ignition and started the vehicle. I immediately turned on my seat heater and slumped back in relief. This meeting, despite being extremely abrupt and overall pointless, had been extremely stressful for me.

"Such a waste of my valuable sleeping time!" I softly mumbled. I lay motionless for several minutes within my waiting car, slowly calming my breathing. When I felt a little better―after my seat had warmed to a comfortable 98 degrees―I put the car in reverse and pulled out of my parking space. Swinging around, I put my car in drive and sped off to my apartment.

"That idiot, where the hell is he?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2 - Morning Routines**

7:55 A.M. March 30th, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

I wanted to go straight back to sleep for the rest of the morning when I returned to my apartment, but I had to be at work in a little under an hour. I dropped my purse at the door and lethargically went into my room to look for my uniform. Once I found it surprisingly tidily packed away in my closet, I undressed and placed my proper Nerv uniform on, making sure my cross necklace wasn't masked by my large jacket, which I promptly unzipped to my leisure. Once dressed for the day, I made my way to the bathroom to prepare myself for the rest of the day. I combed my hair so it didn't look so ragged and disorderly. I put on my usual makeup and made sure I looked presentable. Once this was done and I was all washed up, I went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. With limited time and supplies, microwavable ramen noodles were the only thing available, but I didn't complain. I personally like my instant food.

While I waited for my food to heat up in the ever-turning microwave, I prepared Pen-Pen's breakfast. A steady supply of raw fish was all he needed to stay happy, and all the better for my limited budget. Many people wondered where my mysterious pet came from. I, of course, know that he was a genetic experiment, created to be a test subject for new technologies by my previous employers. Most people can get by with that story, since Pen-Pen is clearly a very strange penguin and no one can quite put their finger on his genetic origins, but my past records of truthfulness leave others skeptical.

The microwave dinged shortly after I finished feeding Pen-Pen, and I quickly moved over to extract my irradiated dish. I inhaled the noodles, chugging a cans of Kirin beer to wash it down, not wanting to be late. My table manners were less than adequate, but I didn't care. No one was there to observe, besides Pen-Pen, who had even more deplorable manners at the table. Once finished, I readied my bag and prepared to head out the door to work.

"Shinji, if you need anything, just call. I'll be at―" Just as I was about to finish my statement, I realized that I was talking to an empty house, with the exception of Pen-Pen. I slowly made my way back down the corridor to Shinji's room. The door was closed and there was no sign of any sort of activity on the other side.

"Shinji? Are you in there? I'm coming in now." I tenderly spoke as I slid the door open. The room was empty.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3 - Bickering Amongst Colleagues**

9:05 A.M. March 30th, 2051.

Nerv HQ, Tokyo-3, Japan.

I barged through the doors of Nerv's Command Center, my clothes fluttering behind me. I was out of breath when I entered the massive room, having ran all the way from my car. It was apparent I had to rush to get to work on time, and even then I failed. The room was mostly empty. The only person there was Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, who was working on some miscellaneous notes I could not make out.

"You're late." Dr. Akagi declared, not bothering to turn her gaze away from her paperwork.

"Tell me something I don't know." I snorted at my colleague as I dusted myself off.

"You know, honestly, I have no idea what we're still doing here." Dr. Akagi blurted randomly.

"What do you mean by that, Ritsuko?" I asked.

"Well, the Angels have all been defeated, and that was our sole purpose here at Nerv. We were founded to create the Evangelions and stop the Angels. Now that we've done that, what are we still doing here?"

"Who cares? At least we still have a job."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about what Commander Ikari wishes to do with the Evangelions, now that their purpose has been met, or so it would seem. They have so much power―"

"Speaking of which," I interrupted, "where is the Commander?"

"He's off on another one of those conferences he seems to always be attending. God knows what the hell he does there."

"Did he bring Fuyutsuki with him?"

"Yes, he said that this time he had something very serious to discuss with the committee."

"Great, I guess that means he's left me in charge. Perfect…" I said sarcastically.

"He said he had faith in you, you should be proud. The Commander doesn't give compliments out often."

"That's true, but he knows I'm disorderly. He should at least give me some ideas of what I need to do. Before it was fairly obvious: run diagnostics, perform maintenance and repairs on the Evangelions, run through sync tests, hell, half the children aren't even here for the sync tests!"

"Does that mean that Shinji ran away again?"

"Yes, yes he did. I'm really getting sick of his attitude. I mean, I know he went through some tough times, but he needs to let go of that stuff. He can't drag himself and everyone he knows down with this crappy depression spree he always gets into after shit hits the fan!"

"Just give him some time. He'll get over it eventually; he always has before."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." I paused for a moment, "What about Asuka? Is she still in a coma?"

"She's getting better but yes, she is. Hopefully, at this rate of recovery, we'll have her back in less than a week."

"Do you think she'll be responsive?"

"Hard to say. She has a very strong personality."

"Do you think she'll ever get in the Eva again?"

"Perhaps, if we can get her confidence back. It'll take time, but I think it's possible."

"Well at least you have confidence… What of Rei?"

"She's doing fine. There was nothing wrong with her to begin with, not after Armisael."

"You mean after you cloned another one of her! She died that day, didn't she? You just went on and made another one of her as if she were an expendable robot, right?"

"You shouldn't be talking about classified information like that out in the open."

"Should I not, or is it that you don't want me to?"

"Both, now can we please move on to more pressing matters, Major Katsuragi?"

"Fine, but don't think I'll forget about this. We're going to have this conversation sooner or latter." I stated sternly, with a bit of anger in my tone.

"Whatever you say Major…" Dr. Akagi said sarcastically.

"So, is there really anything for me to do here?"

"Not really. I didn't really need you today."

"Great, this day just keeps getting better-and-better!" I said angrily, "Well, in that case, I'll go home and look for Shinji."

"Hold on. Now that I think about it, the Commander does have some papers that need to be filed. Could you do that?"

"Why can't you do that?"

"I would, but I have to go in a couple of minutes. I have to run the routine diagnostics and system checks on the Magi with Ibuki today."

"That's today?" I exclaimed, rather annoyed.

"Yes, those are today. I probably won't have time to finish the paperwork, and you know how cranky the Commander can get when his paperwork isn't done." Dr. Akagi replied, knowing that I had no choice but to agree.

"Fine, I'll do it. At least it'll give me something to do."

"When you find Shinji, we should do a sync test with him to make sure he hasn't lost any of his luster."

"You think he'll even get in the Entry Plug, let alone the Eva?"

"Hard to say. Maybe, but that'll be for you to figure out, not me. Remember, you are his guardian."

"I know, I know… just… let me concentrate." I said, frustrated and angered by Dr. Akagi's pestering.

"You were the one to bring it up." Dr. Akagi pointed out.

"Shut up, Ritsuko!" I irritatingly shouted.

"Whatever. If you need me, I'll be working on Caspar with Ibuki." Dr. Akagi stated as she moved over to the control panel and pressed a few keys. When she lifted her fingers, the three S.C. Magi Systems rose up from their containment units underneath the floors of the three sections of Nerv's Commander Center, exposing their tangled messes of brain-like circuitry. Dr. Akagi exited the main branch to meet First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki at the third branch to run tests on Caspar. I was left alone, irritated and forced to handle a lot of paperwork.

"This better not be more property damage complaints. I'm so sick of reading those!" I grumbled as I sat down at the desk and began shuffling through the many piles of papers I was tasked with organizing and attending to. As I rummaged through the stacks of papers, I accidentally toppled a few folders and sheets of paper off the desk.

"Goddammit! Why does the world always have to be against me?" I grumbled as I bent over to pick up the papers. I piled the strewn papers together on the floor in a disordered stack so I could pick them up all at once. I put them back on the desk, and that was when I realized that one of the folders I had knocked over was Shinji's portfolio.

"Dammit, Shinji, where could you be?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 - Finding Shinji**

3:10 P.M. March 30th, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

Work was slow now at Nerv. With the defeat of the final Angel, the whole point of the organization withered away. Perhaps Commander Ikari saw otherwise, and that's why he kept the company alive, but he was never around and, with nothing to do at the base, neither were most people. The majority of the staff were given large amounts of time off due to a lack of positions for them to fill. I'm surprised at this point that the Commander hasn't just laid them all off.

I left work early. There was nothing for me to do but file the papers Dr. Akagi asked me to tend to. Besides, I had a lot on my mind and I wasn't in a working mood. I returned to my apartment to find emptiness. I hung my caught up and looked around for any signs of Shinji having returned. Pen-Pen was in his fridge, watching TV as he usually does, but Shinji was still absent. I was nervous, very nervous. I may not have been the best guardian, but I cared for Shinji, and when he escaped for such prolonged periods of time, I worried for his wellbeing. I worried about if he had a warm place to sleep, if he had enough to eat, if he was happy. All of these things tormented me as I looked out upon my cluttered yet seemingly void apartment. I decided to go looking for him. I picked up my jacket and turned back for the door.

"There's fish for you in the fridge, Pen-Pen, and help yourself to the Coke in there as well. I might be out for some time." Misato shouted to her pet as she headed out the door, as if she expected a response from the penguin. Pen-Pen simply cocked his head at the noise, then returned to watching his show.

I jumped back into my car and started the ignition. I back out of my parking space and shot for the first place I thought Shinji would be―the train station. Shinji had often been found running to the train station when he had nowhere else to go, and I knew that, so I figured that would be my best bet for finding him. I arrived there shortly, as it was stationed near my apartment. I exited the car and looked around. The place was empty.

I was lost and afraid. I feared that Shinji had taken the train out of the city. What if he left the city for good this time, I thought to herself. What if he isn't coming back? I panicked, but before I could do anything, I heard something, a very familiar sound of metal rolling against metal. A train was coming.

A spark of hope ignited within me. I rushed up to the loading zone to await the train's stop at the station. The wheels squeaked as the breaks caused the segmented goliath to come to a halt at the station with it's doors lining up perfectly with the designated boarding regions. I waited in anticipation for the doors to hiss open and reveal my seemingly lost child, but when the doors did give way, it did not reveal my beloved infant. The automated masculine voice directed the passengers to exit the train in an orderly fashion at this location, but the train was empty. My heart sank. There was no one aboard the train. No one, not even a simply pedestrian.

I was trapped in emptiness. It was as if my whole world was falling apart. I stamped my foot into the ground, dropping my head as tears began to roll down my cheeks. I tried to conceal my sobbing, but it only made it worse. As I continued to sob, the doors timed out and the automated voice once again beckoned, but this time it welcomed visitors aboard as it cautioned to steer clear of the closing doors. I attempted to stop my outburst of emotion with little success. As the doors began to close, I looked up again in false hope, begging that there was something there that I had missed before, and there was. In the corner of my eye I spotted a form, a shape. There was someone on the train, and that person was Shinji! My heart jumped within my chest. I rubbed the tears out of ,y eyes and sprang for the departing train, but I was already too late. The doors were closed before I could reach them. I banged on the glass, demanding to be let in, but it wouldn't budge; my efforts were futile. I screamed to stop the train, but no one could stop the machine. The started towards its next destination, slowly picking up speed. As it rocketed off, Shinji passed my view. He had his headphones in and his head down. He didn't even look up as my red and tearing face passed his view through the moving window.

I was devastated, but in no way about to give up. I wiped the remainder of the tears from my eyes and looked up to find the train schedules on a flashing monitor attached to the overhanging ceiling of the station. I determined that the particular train I was after would stop next in District 12. With this information, I hurried back to my car to follow Shinji's train. I followed the tracks as much as possible, taking the alley streets so as to keep a visual on my target. I couldn't see Shinji from this distance, but I could feel his presence. I quickly decided keeping a visual pursuit was not enough. I needed to go faster. I pushed down hard on the gas pedal with my foot and shot forward, overtook the train towards the District 12 train station. I tapped my fingers with impatience on the steering wheel. Even at full speed, it felt as if I couldn't get there fast enough. When I finally got within viewing distance of the train station, with no sign of the train I was after, I knew I had made it. My car skid across the road with a horrible squeal of burning rubber as I forced the speeding car to an abrupt halt in front of the station. I jumped out of my car with great haste and made my way to the loading zone. I tapped my foot against the floor in anticipation as I waited for my quarry's arrival. I didn't have to wait long. The squeal of metallic breaks were soon heard, and the train came into view as it slowly ground to a halt. The doors opened and the automated voice directed the nonexistent passengers to their next destination. I payed no mind to these minor details. All I wanted to do was bring Shinji home. I leaped into the train and looked around for Shinji. He was seated in a corner on the other end of the train cart.

"Shinji!" I called out in excitement. Shinji looked up slowly to see where this approaching noise came from, but before he could really raise his head, I threw my arms around the boy, my eyes tearing at his shoulder.

"Oh, Shinji! I was so worried!"

"Misato? What are you―"

"Thank goodness you're safe!" I interrupted. I squeezed Shinji tightly, crying tears of joy into his shoulder as I held him. Shinji was shocked by my sudden appearance. No signs of any other emotion crossed his face. "Come on, let's take you home." I continued as I moved away from Shinji, holding him by the hand, beckoning him to follow.

"Misato? I-I… I don't want to go back."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"That place isn't my home. I never had a home. Your apartment, Nerv, this city, being here only reminds me of the horrible things I have done, how much of a monster I really am, and I don't want that. I don't want to remember."

"Oh, come on, Shinji, don't be ridiculous. You're not a monster, you're a good boy. Let me take you home."

"No. I'm not coming with you."

"No?"

"Dammit, that's what I said!" Shinji shouted as he began to tear up, astounding me, "I'm not going back to that horrible place! I'm not piloting the Eva again! I won't hurt anyone else, I just won't! I can't..." I could feel the tension and despair given off by Shinji.

"Shinji, you have to stop running away from the past. You'll have to face your demons sooner or later. Listen, I promise you that you won't have to pilot the Eva ever again if you come back." I soothingly said, trying to calm Shinji.

"Why should I believe you?" Shinji snapped.

"What benefit would I get from lying to you?" I rhetorically asked.

"I don't know." Shinji replied, not sure of what to say.

"Then why don't you trust me?" I asked, still talking with a tender voice.

"I don't know!" Shinji shouted, again beginning to sob into his cupped hands. I put my hand on Shinji's opposite shoulder and pulled him in close.

"Shh, it's okay, I got you. I know that you might not trust me. I know you might even hate me, but I want you to know that I am always here for you." I said as I gently stroked Shinji's head. Shinji continued to sob for a while before he finally calmed down enough to speak.

"Really?" Shinji asked as he rubbed his teary eyes, "Do you mean it?"

"With all of my heart." I replied as I warmly smiled at him. I paused for a bit to let Shinji soak it all in before I continued. "Listen, Shinji, I know you're still sad about what happened to Kaworu, but he said it himself. You two cannot live in the same world together, it just isn't possible. I know you think that Kaworu deserved to live more than you do, but I don't. Shinji, I know you're a very special boy deep down inside. You just have to believe in yourself. You can't think about what others say or think about you. You are your own person, you can make your own destiny. Now come on, let me take you home." Shinji teared up again, but he rubbed his swollen eyes clean and reluctantly took my accepting hand and came with me. He took his headphones out and placed them in his pocket as he slowly followed my lead. We both made it off the train just before the doors sealed. We walked to my car in calm silence while I tenderly grasped Shinji's hand, relieved to feel his innocent touch. We hopped into the car and I drove us home to my apartment. On the way there, I tried to relieve Shinji from his doubt, which was still quite perceptible.

"I've already gotten some help for you, Shinji. It's all going to be okay, you're safe now. I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again." Shinji didn't quite know what to say. There was a long pause before he decided to speak.

"Misato?"

"Yes, Shinji?"

"Did you mean what you said back there? About never having to pilot Eva again?"

"With all of my heart."

"Th-thank you."

"No, Shinji, thank you. I wasn't being a good guardian. I was neglecting you, and you left me. That made me realize how much you really mean to me. I won't let you go again, Shinji."

"You sound like my mother…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5 - A Special Day**

11:20 A.M. March 31st, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

Shinji woke up rather late the next day. He had had a rough day, and he needed his sleep. I didn't bother him. Honestly, I woke up only a few minutes before him, anyways, since I didn't need to go back to work that Friday, so I couldn't have woken him up even if I had wanted to.

Shinji slid his room's door open and let out a large yawn. I was in the kitchen, preparing food at the stove. Shinji slowly waddled into the room, sitting down at the small table without much of a sound.

"Good morning, Shinji!" I exclaimed with a joyful spring in my voice, as if I could feel Shinji's presence, despite his silence.

"Good morning, Misato." Shinji replied as he rubbed his still sluggish eyes. I turned around to look at him, and I observed as Shinji took a whiff of the air. I could tell he was revolted.

"Oh God, Misato, what are you cooking?" Shinji asked as he covered his nose.

"Pancakes!" I replied happily as I turned around to show off my work. They were burnt to the point of being chard.

"Um, Misato, those are seriously burnt." Shinji announced, as if I was oblivious to my own failure.

"Oh... I know! I'm a terrible cook! I'm so sorry, Shinji! I tried to make you a nice breakfast this morning, but I just can't cook!" I embarrassingly confessed. Shinji looked around the table to find all sorts of yummy ingredients. Stripes of packaged raw bacon, a carton of eggs, milk, maple syrup, all these food items covered the kitchen table. Shinji noticed that pancake mix was on the counter next to the stove. The top was opened.

"Misato, when did you get all this?" Shinji asked.

"After you went to bed last night, I went and did a little shopping for this morning's breakfast. I know that you don't like my instant noodles, so I went to get something new. I wanted to make today's meal extra special." I replied.

"Y-you did all this… for me?"

"Yes, Shinji, I did all this for you. No one else, just you!"

"Wow… thank you, Misato."

"Oh, it's the least I can do! Too bad I can't cook any of it for you…"

"Here, let me help you." Shinji said as he got up to help me. Shinji reached into the pantry and took out a large mixing bowl. He placed it on the counter and took the milk and eggs from the table.

"Here Misato." Shinji said as he handed me the pancake mix, "You need to mix it thoroughly to get a good consistency. That way it won't burn as quickly… and it'll taste better!"

"Thanks, Shinji!" I replied. Despite describing to me exactly what I had to do, Shinji didn't seem like he was entirely sure I would get it right, so he walked me through the steps. He held my hand as I poured the pancake mix into the mixer bowl, holding it back when I had poured enough in. He held my hand as I cracked the eggs, making sure I did it delicately as to not get any of the shell in the mix. He held my hand as I poured in the milk, making sure there was not too much and not too little, but just enough to make it right. He held my hand as I mixed all the ingredients together into one big soup within the bowl. He helped me put the butter on the pan so it would melt into a nice coating for the mix to be poured onto. He held my hand as I slowly poured the mix into three small circles in the pan. He helped me flip the pancakes so they would not burn and they could be cooked thoroughly throughout. He continued to help me as we repeated the process until there was no more pancake mix to be poured. The pancakes were placed evenly onto two large plates to be served. Next he helped with the bacon. He held my hand as I pulled the strips out of the packaging and placed them slowly onto the bubbling, greisy fryer. He helped me keep an eye on the stripes as they cooked to a crisp, golden brown. He made sure that I took them off the fryer before they burned. He placed them together evenly onto the two plates, which were now quite full. Finally, he helped me with the eggs. He got out another small bowl to place the eggs in to be mixed. He held my hand as I cracked the eggs into the bowl. He held my hand as I mixed the eggs together into a yellowy mess with a fork. He held my hand as I poured the mess into the pan to cook. He helped me watch the eggs as they fried into a more solid state. He held my hand as I scrambled them together. He held my hand as I seasoned the end result with salt and pepper and placed it evenly onto the overflowing plates. With that, breakfast was served.

"Wow, Shinji, I didn't know you knew how to cook that well! Thank you so much for your help!"

"It's just a little something my old teacher taught me when I lived with her. It was nothing."

"Nothing? Without you, we would have gone hungry! You did a great job! Thank you, Shinji." I could tell that my words made Shinji feel special, something that didn't happen very often. With food prepared and ready, we dug into our heaping plates of succulent morsels.

"Could you pass the maple syrup." I asked, my mouth still partially filled with food as I gobbled down the eggs.

"Sure." Shinji replied as he took the maple syrup and handed it to me. He knew my table manners were not the greatest, but he didn't care, he was simply content to have a nice breakfast with his guardian for once.

Pen-Pen took interest in the delightful smell that radiated from the kitchen outwards through the apartment. He soon waddled in and squawked at me.

"Oh, you want your food, don't you, Pen-Pen?" The penguin simply squawked at me again.

"I know, I'll get it for you." I got up from my seat and went to the fridge. I opened the door and pulled out a can of fish. I opened a drawer and pulled out a can opener. I slowly twisted off the can's top and poured it into one of Pen-Pen's special food bowl. I then placed the bowl on the floor and Pen-Pen came waddling over to claim his prize.

"There you go, happy now?" I asked him. Pen-Pen looked up at me and squawked, then he lowered his head and began to eat. With that done, I returned to my seat and resumed eating my own breakfast.

About halfway through breakfast, the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Shinji said as he got up to get the phone.

"Oh, heavens no, Shinji! You've done enough this morning! You just sit down, relax, and enjoy your breakfast. I'll get the phone."

"Oh, well thank you, Misato." Shinji said, a little stunned as he sat back down and continued to eat. I stood up and went for the phone, swallowing a large mouthful of pancake as I went. I reached the phone, made sure my mouth was clear, then picked it up and answered.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone. The response was an automated salesman's voice. I hung up immediately.

"Dammit! I don't want to buy your stupid garbage!" I shouted at the inanimate phone.

"What's wrong?" Shinji asked, a little puzzled by my random outburst.

"Oh, just another stupid sales call. Nothing important." I replied calmly as I walked back over to the table to resume breakfast, hoping not to be disturbed again. As I sat back down, I remembered the phone, and it got me thinking about the psychologist. I quickly finished what was left of my food and stood up to get the phone again.

"I need to make a quick phone call. Now don't go running off on me again, okay?" I said, joking in one sense but being serious in another, as I moved to my room and shut the door. Shinji didn't say anything; he simply smiled back at me. He seemed like he was a little suspicious, but I think he had grown to trust me, as he let me tend to my own affairs. Maybe it was just that he was too busy eating to care at the moment.

Now safe within the confines of my private room, I dialed up the number the psychologist had given me. The phone started to ring. Within a few seconds there was a response.

"Hello?" Stephanie responded.

"Yes, hello? This is Misato Katsuragi. I'm calling to schedule an appointment for Shinji Ikari."

"Ah yes, Ms. Katsuragi. Well, the doctor is quite busy this week. How does next Friday sound?"

"Do you have anytime sooner?" I asked hesitantly.

"Let me check… well, we could do 12:30, but that would only give you a few minutes to get here."

"I'll take it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Put my name down, I'll be right over."

"Alright. Thank you, Ms. Katsuragi. We will see you in a few minutes." With that, Stephanie hung up. I hurried to get my proper clothes on for the day. I tried to put on something professional so I wouldn't look like a klutz again, but I didn't spend too much time because I didn't want to wait another full week to get Shinji to the psychologist. I hurriedly got ready and exited my room.

"Come on, Shinji, get dressed, we're going."

"What? Where are we going?"

"I have an appointment. Now come on, I don't want to be late."

"You're not bringing me to Nerv, are you?" Shinji asked, a little suspicious.

"No, of course not! I gave you my word, and I intend on keeping it… Alright, are you ready?" I asked impatiently.

"Let me get dressed and I'll be out in a minute." Shinji replied as he placed his dish and mine in the sink. He then moved to his room and closed the door. I was getting my shoes and socks on at the table. Just then, Pen-Pen finished licking his bowl clean and looked up again at me with a puzzled stare.

"I know, Pen-Pen, you want some attention too, but this is important. Shinji needs this. I promise I'll spend some time with you tonight, okay?" I said as if he could understand me. The penguin simply cocked his head at my sounds, then moved into the living room. Shinji soon exited with his proper clothes on, prepped and ready to go.

"Are you ready?" I asked again, still very impatient.

"Yes, now I'm ready."

"Great, now let's go." I said, still trying to get my shoes on properly. Shinji made his way to the door, waiting for me there.

"Come on, Misato, you're the one who wants to leave so badly and I'm waiting on you." Shinji said as he pulled my jacket down from the rack.

"I know. Thank you, darling." I said as I finished up and took my caught from Shinji. We exited my apartment and headed for my car. We jumped in and were on our way.

"So, Misato." Shinji said as I drove.

"Yes, Shinji?"

"Where exactly are we going?"

"I told you, I have an appointment with a doctor."

"Why do I have to come?"

"They want to see you, too. It's a general checkup." I said, trying to give away as little as possible as to not alarm Shinji. I wasn't sure how he'd react.

"Besides, I wouldn't want you to go running away on me again!" I teased as I ruffled up Shinji's hair. Shinji began to laugh, something he didn't do often. I felt glad that I was able to bring joy to Shinji. I only hoped that he would thank me for bringing him to the psychologist for help.

The ride wasn't a long one. The doctor's office was quite close. I didn't want to drive very far in case I would need to bring Shinji to the physiologist frequently, which I assumed would be the case. I drove into the parking lot and found a spot directly in front of the entrance. I hastily parked my car and jumped out to claim my spot. Shinji followed, taking his time as he exited the car and trailed my path into the building.

"I'm here!" I shouted as I pushed through the door.

"You're five minutes early. Please, have a seat. The doctor will see you soon." Stephanie stated.

"Thank you." As I sat down, Shinji walked through the open door, closing it behind him. He looked around with a strange look in his eye. The place was foreign to him, and that worried him a bit. Shinji didn't like new places.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, take my seat, Shinji." I said as I stood up to give Shinji my seat.

"No, Misato, you sat down first. I couldn't take your―"

"Don't be silly!" I interrupted, "Please, I insist, have a seat. You need it more than I do."

"Oh… well thank you, Misato." Shinji said as he slowly sat down. Shinji seemed surprised at how nice I was being to him lately. He seemed to like the fact that he was receiving attention, as if he was important, something he had never felt before, but he didn't seem to know why. He didn't seem to give it much mind, however, because he enjoyed the feeling, so he saw no benefit in questioning it.

A minute or two later, the psychologist exited, thanking his previous patient for his time. As he waved goodbye to his last patient, his eyes met mine.

"Ah, Ms. Katsuragi, you're back!"

"Yes, and this time I'm not so disorderly."

"That is good to hear!" the doctor responded.

"I'm also not alone." my word's aroused interest in Dr. Katashi, just noticing the presence of the boy sitting beside me.

"Ah, so this must be Shinji, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, this is Shinji. Say hi, Shinji, this is your new psychologist, Dr. Hiroto Katashi."

"What? You got me a psychologist?"

"Yes, Shinji. I thought you needed some help. Give it a chance, you'll see. It's a good thing."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ikari." Dr. Katashi declared, delighted to finally meet his patient. He extended his hand as a greeting, and Shinji reluctantly shook it, as if only for custom. "Don't worry at all about our work. You'll enjoy it, trust me." Shinji seemed petrified. He didn't know what to say or do.

"It's okay, Shinji, Dr. Katashi is a very nice man. I have faith in his work."

"I know we'll get along swimmingly, my boy! Come, Shinji, let's talk." Dr. Katashi beckoned Shinji to enter his office. Shinji looked back as if to receive my permission. I nodded, and Shinji followed.

"It's alright if we have a private conversation, right Ms. Katsuragi? I want to know his side of the story without any influence from anyone else, and from the looks of it, you are very influential to him, which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I just want to hear his own opinions on his condition."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Thank you, Dr. Katashi."

"It's what I do!" The doctor replied as he closed the door to his office. With Shinji safely within the hands of the good doctor, I sat myself down in one of the comfortable chairs and rummaged through the magazines on the counter to find something of interest. I found an old beauty magazine and flipped through its pages, landing on an article that intrigued me. The women in it were so beautiful!

Once inside, I sat down hesitantly, looking around the room to get a feeling for my new, foreign, surroundings.

"So, Shinji, is it?"

"Y-yes, mister."

"Oh please, call me Hiroto."

"R-right, H-hiroto." I stuttered.

"So, Shinji, I hear that you've been a little stressed lately. Would you mind if I asked why? Everything you say in here is strictly confidential between you and me, unless you say something that requires serious attention and cannot be kept quiet, like you say you want to kill yourself or someone else. Don't worry, you're secrets are safe with me. Sometimes I find it beneficial for patients to just talk about their problems. It takes a great burden off their chests. I think it'll be the same for you, Shinji, so go ahead, tell me what's wrong."

"Well, I really don't feel comfortable talking about it…"

"Go on, Shinji, you'll feel a lot better if you just say it, trust me." I took in those words for a moment, then I started to cry.

"I-I-I-I killed Kaworu!" I wailed.

"You did what?"

"I killed Kaworu! He was my friend, but they made me kill him! Everyone at Nerv, they wanted him dead!"

"Oh, I see. I am very sorry for your loss." Dr. Katashi paused for a moment to give me some time to collect myself, "Does Ms. Katsuragi know about this?"

"She knows." I said as I tried to calm myself to no avail, "She was there when it happened. They said that Kaworu was an Angel. They said that I had to kill him. I didn't want to, but he insisted."

"He insisted?"

"Yes, he said that we couldn't live together and that one of us had to die, and that I deserved to live more than he did. It should have been me…" I fell back into a state of sorrow and began to cry again.

"Wow, I'm shocked. I've never dealt with a situation like this before. Y-you are one of the pilots for those Eva robots, correct?"

"Yes, or at least I used to be. I'm not anymore."

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I hated doing it."

"Oh, well, since you feel so strongly about that, maybe we should talk about that. You said that Kaworu, your friend, he was an Angel."

"Yes."

"And because of this, he had to die."

"Yes."

"But why did you have to kill him?"

"I was the only one who could."

"What do you mean?"

"The other two pilots were hurt when it happened, so they couldn't pilot."

"I see… Well, this whole thing with the Evas seems like it has a serious effect on you. Maybe we should start at the beginning. When did you start to get involved with the Evas?"

"Well," I said as I tried to calm myself and think about when it all started, "it all began with my father…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6 - Recalling the Past**

12:35 A.M. March 31st, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

Dr. Katashi shuffled a bit in his chair, leaning forward, interested in what I had to say.

"Well, you see, I never really knew my father until about a year ago."

"That's very unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that, but, would you be bothered if I asked why?"

"Not really. I don't remember exactly what happened because I was so young, but I'll try." I paused for a moment. "My father left me when I was about four. He abandoned me with my teacher. I had seen him very little before that. He was always away somewhere, presumable at his work now that I think back to it. He only brought me there once, and it was really my mother who did that."

"You haven't mentioned your mother until now. Why is that?"

"She's dead. She died the day she took me to father's work." Dr. Katashi could tell that I was trying to hold back tears.

"Wow, Shinji, I didn't realize you had such a traumatic childhood. No child should have to endure growing up without parental figures. I can tell that these memories are very painful for you to remember. You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, just remember, you can stop at any time. I'm not forcing you to do anything."

"Okay. Well, I didn't see my father again for eight years after my mother died."

"What happened then?"

"We both went to mother's grave that day. He didn't say anything to me. I'm not even sure why they have that stupid grave, it's not like there was a body to bury."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know exactly. I was too young to remember what happened to my mother. My father said that there was nobody; she just vanished."

"I see. This must have really impacted you."

"Maybe."

"I think it has more than you think, but we'll get into that later. Anyways, when was the next time you saw your father?"

"That was about two years later, ten years since he abandoned me. I got an envelope in the mail from this place called Nerv. It had a bunch of paperwork in it and a letter requesting my presence. That was early last year." I paused for a moment. "The city was under lockdown, so my teacher couldn't gain access to the heart of the city where I was supposed to be dropped off. However, the documents I was given somehow granted me access, so I had to enter the city alone. I walked down to the meeting point, where Misato was supposed to pick me up."

"You mean your guardian, Ms. Katsuragi, correct?"

"Yeah, she was supposed to meet me, but she wasn't there. In fact, no one was there. The place was completely empty and sirens were blaring everywhere. I was a little nervous, so I decided to go to a payphone and see if I could contact any of the numbers that were on the sheets I had, but the phones were down. I turned around and next thing I knew I could have sworn I saw Rei."

"Rei? Who is Rei?"

"Oh, she's one of the other Eva pilots."

"Did you know her before this?"

"No, sir."

"I see. Go on." Dr. Katashi insisted, interesting in where this was going and wanting to know more. He didn't want to scramble my delicate train of thought with his insignificant questions, but he couldn't help it. My story was so interesting.

"It must have been a mirage or something, because she was gone when I blinked."

"Interesting." Dr. Katashi said, unable to hold himself back from asking a question. "Do you remember what the conditions were that day? Was it sunny, rainy, cloudy, that sort of thing?"

"It was a pretty nice day, warm and sunny and all."

"Was it hot?"

"Not super hot, but I guess it was a little hot."

"I see. Go on."

"Well, after I thought I saw Rei, this helicopter thing crashed down right in front of me, and then this huge grey foot came out of nowhere and crushes the thing in a big explosion. I was knocked flat on my back."

"I would assume this was the Angel."

"Yes, that was my first look at an Angel, and I hope I never have to get that close to one of them ever again."

"I can see why. They seem terrifying."

"They are."

"I bet, and you would know best. But enough my rambling, go on."

"Before I could get up, this blue car swung by and Misato opened the door and expected me to get in. I didn't know her back then so it was a little weird. First meeting someone and having them demand that you get into a car during a monster attack doesn't make for a good first impression."

"Indeed, and first impressions are very important. Anyways, go on."

"I didn't really have much of a choice but to get in. She sort of looked like the woman in the photo that was given to me in the envelope for reference, but she had glasses on, so I couldn't really tell. Plus, I was pretty freaked out by the whole Angel thing. I didn't even know what it was back then. Anyway, we got to a safe distance, but then Misato decided to stop and watch. Apparently, whoever was in charge of getting rid of this thing, probably the Japanese Self-Defense Force now that I think about it, decided to drop a bomb on the Angel or something like that and the blast knocked our car right off the road. We had to flip it back onto its wheels so we could drive off. Misato took me to a gas station to get some spare batteries and some tape for her car, then we finally went to Nerv. I asked her if she would get in trouble for stealing the batteries, but she said she had authority to do something like that under those circumstances. I didn't really believe her story, but I wasn't about to question it either. When we finally got to Nerv, we were lowered down to the secret base under the city. It was a beautiful sight, actually. I couldn't help but take in—"

"Sorry to interrupt you, Shinji, but could you get to the details about your father. Those are the ones that are truly important." Dr. Katashi interrupted.

"Okay then, when we got down to Nerv, I was introduced to the Eva by Ritsuko, head scientists at Nerv. It was then that I saw him. He was looming over the scene like a crackling puppet master. He asked me to get in the Eva, but I didn't want to. It was the first time I had ever seen the thing and he expected me to pilot it and fight the Angel I just barely escape. It was crazy!"

"Your father does seem a bit lacking in common sense. Either that or timing, or both."

"He's lacking in a lot of areas."

"I can tell you don't feel very good about him."

"No, I don't. He betrayed me."

"Oh, how so?"

"He keeps asking me to get in that damn Eva, and whenever I get into that horrible thing, someone I care about gets hurt!"

"Then why do you do it, Shinji? Why would you do something you hate?"

"Because, because when I pilot, people respect me. They praise me for piloting Eva. Without Eva, I'm nothing…" That last statement hit me hard. I started to tear up a bit when I said it, just now realizing everything that I had said and what it meant. I tried to hold back, like is was embarrassing, but I couldn't.

"It's alright, Shinji, just let it out. I'm here for you. You'll feel better once you've expressed yourself." Dr. Katashi insisted calmly. I took a few moments to rub my eyes and calm down before I spoke again.

"Without Eva, I'm nothing…"

"Now, Shinji, you shouldn't say things like that. If you keep talking negatively to yourself, soon or later you'll start believing it, if you don't already. Listen, Shinji, you're not a nobody without the Eva. You can be whatever you want; you can chose your own destiny. You shouldn't let the opinions or the decisions of others dictate your life. If you don't like piloting the Eva, then don't. If your friends look down on you for that, then they aren't your true friends. A true friend would stick by you and respect your wishes and your decisions. I can imagine that piloting the Eva is a tough job. You hold the weight of the world on your shoulders and you're forced to fight giant monsters you don't even understand. No one could possibly understand the hardships you've gone through, because none of them have had a similar experience. You are unique, you are special, and don't let anyone tell you differently. Shinji, you do what you want to do. Don't let others drag you down. Be free, Shinji, be free." I didn't know what to say. What the doctor said, it made sense, but I had never done something like that before. It was a new concept for me, something fresh, something bold, something better. I couldn't speak.

"Shinji? Is everything alright."

"Hiroto, I need help."

"I know, Shinji, and it's okay. Sometimes accepting that we need help and taking it is the best thing we can do. There is no shame in asking for help. That's what I'm here for."

"No, I really need help."

"You have no self-confidence, Shinji, I know. Your actions, emotions, even your mood is based entirely on those around you and what they think of you. If you want to get better, we have to fix this. We need to make you more intrinsic and not so extrinsic. You know what those two words mean, correct?"

"Not exactly."

"Extrinsic means that you take in what others say very seriously and care about their thoughts more than yours. People who are extrinsic need others to say that they did a good job. They don't give credibility to their own opinion. You are very much like that, Shinji, and, sadly, it's not a good thing. Taking in the feedback of others is fine, but not when you use it to shape your entire life. You live your own life, and people's opinions shouldn't make you change into someone you're not. If piloting Eva is a horrible experience for you, you have to stop doing it. You shouldn't let the fact that others praise you for it cloud your judgement. Praise is nice, but your well-being is what matters most, and you're not well."

"Can you fix me, Hiroto?"

"I believe I can. In fact, I just finished with a patient who has a similar problem to yours. It's not as extreme, but it's similar, and I think I can cure you just as I cured him, per say. I have a treatment specifically for people who have no self-confidence. It's a long, multi-step process that'll take time and effort on your part, but if you embrace what I am trying to do, stick with it, and try to make a difference, you will change Shinji, that I can assure you. You will change for the better, and when you do, you're going to be a fine young man, I can see it in you already!" Dr. Katashi glanced down briefly at his watch and he noticed that their time was over, "Oh my, look at the time! Well, it looks like we're going to have to finish this conversation at a later date." Dr. Katashi got up and opened the door. Misato, upon hearing the squeak of the door, instantaneously, almost as if on instinct, put down the magazine she was reading and got up to see how I was.

"Thank you for your time, Hiroto." I said to the doctor as he shook my hand at the door.

"It was my pleasure, Shinji. You did a great job today. We'll work on getting your confidence up next time. Ms. Katsuragi can schedule your next appointment with Stephanie at the counter… assuming you don't run off again!"

"How did you know about that?" Dr. Katashi made a gesture with his head towards Misato. I turned and looked at her with a bit of a pout.

"Misato!"

"It was an important detail! He had to know, Shinji!" Misato replied defensively.

"It's alright, Shinji," Dr. Katashi assured me, "it was a joke. I know that's in the past. You're a new person now, and I'm going to help mold you into the best person you can possibly be! I see great potential in you, Shinji, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" The doctor's words really made me feel special. For the first time in quite a while, I smiled.

"That's my boy!" Dr. Katashi shouted in excitement, "Smile, be happy! Every day is a good day! You're on the road to success already! Alright, well, I'll see you next time." With that, Dr. Katashi returned to his office. Misato approached the desk and spoke with Stephanie about their next appointment. In a few minutes, she was done and she prompted me to the car. We exited the doctor's office and walked to her vehicle. We opened our respective doors and entered slowly. Misato sat down, relieved, as if the office made her uncomfortable.

"So, Shinji, what did you guys talk about."

"Hiroto said that I have confidence issues, and that he can fix me."

"That's good. Do you like him?"

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy. Super supportive."

"Glad to hear it! I hope he can really help fix this problem of yours." Misato paused for a moment, "You know I want the best for you, Shinji, right?" Misato said motherly.

"Yes, I know, Misato." I said, as if replying to an overprotective mother.

"Good!" Misato said as she perked up a smile and ruffled up my hair again, "Now let's get you home, I'm starving!" Misato said, sort of kidding.

"Is that all you think about, Misato?"

"It's good to have you back, Shinji. I missed you."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7 - The Council**

5:55 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Seele's private headquarters, somewhere in Japan.

I entered a dark room, followed close behind by my Vice-Commander, Koko Fuyutsuki. Closing the door behind us, the room was nearly pitch black. Despite this, I knew where to go, for I had been here countless times before. I made my way towards the center of the room, where a small desk awaited me. I sat down slowly as Kozo took his position at my side. As I sat down, lights beamed down 12 projections of large, floating monoliths, as if on cue. Imprinted on each of these projected stones was the word "Seele" followed by a number and then the words "Sound Only". The numbers went in ascending order in a clockwise fashion around me, as they always did. My desk was also lit up as the meeting commenced. The monolith with the numbers 01, representing the voice of the head of the council, Chairman Keel Lorenz, was the first to speak.

"Gentlemen, welcome. You should all know why I have called together this meeting, especially you, Mr. Gendo Ikari?" The fact that he used my full name was a sign he was not pleased.

"Yes. Everything is going according to plan." I replied.

"Is that so? It would appear not, according to my references. The loss of Unit-00 was a very unfortunate accident, one you are still not fully forgiven for."

"That was several months ago. Construction on further Evangelion units is well under way."

"I am aware of that, Ikari. That is not the problem. The problem is your facilities. After the destruction of the final Angel, Tabris, the child you refer to as Kaworu Nagisa, what has Nerv done of use for our plans? With no more Angels to stand in our way, we should be enacting the final stages of the Human Instrumentality Project. We need not wait for you to come up with some breakthrough. The breakthrough has already been made! The Angels are gone! The Evangelions must now be used to fulfill what they were truly created for!"

"Do not rush this. The Human Instrumentality Project will be fulfilled in due time. You do not want a repeat of what happened in 2035, do you?"

"That was an essential sacrifice!" one of the other council members interjected, "We needed to make contact with Adam in order for us to continue our plans with the construction of the Evangelions."

"Correct." Chairman Lorenz continued, "Second Impact was completely under control. There is no reason a similar event would happen at this time for any reason, unless we wish it to be so."

"You call Second Impact 'controlled?' There was nothing 'controlled' about it! The contact experiment went horribly wrong, and you know that! That whole incident could have been averted!"

"Do not change the subject on us, Ikari." another council member stated.

"Yes, making excuses for yourself will not help your case. We will not have our plans halted just for your own sake. We have put too much into this for that." Chairman Lorenz added.

"I am not making excuses. I am simply saying that I think we are not ready. Evangelion Unit-01 now has an S2-Engine within its core. This could make it unstable and perhaps alter our desired outcome for Third Impact."

"Do you not have Unit-01 under control?" another council member asked.

"No, I have it completely under control." I replied, feeling personally attacked.

"And your son is still willing to pilot it?"

"That is not important. If he will not pilot it, I shall find someone else who will."

"Good. That is what we wanted to hear. So, with that said, why would their be a problem with Unit-01 having assimilated a S2-Engine into its core? Did the Eva not battle the final Angel with this organ within it without complications?"

"Yes, but—"

"Silence, Ikari. I will have no more of this. You will allow us to continue our plans without resistance. Otherwise, we shall storm Nerv Headquarters and take Adam, Lilith and the Evangelions by force. Is that clear?"

"Yes." I replied with an innate reluctance. He paused for a moment before he spoke. "Give me one week."

"Fine, we shall grant you one week, but no more." Chairman Lorenz reluctantly accepted, "If you are not completed by then, you will be shut down. Force will be used if necessary. Do not make it come to that, Ikari."

"I will not." I replied with confidence.

"Good. I hope you understand the forces you are contending with, Ikari. Your presence is no longer required." With Chairman Lorenz's final words, the projections faded and I was left alone with Kozo in the empty blackness of the room.

"I think that went quite well, sir." Kozo announced sarcastically.

"Hopefully we can prepare Unit-01 before Seele decides to take over." I stated as I pushed my chair out and prepared to exit the meeting room. Just as I turned, the phone on the desk began to ring. Kozo picked up the phone and answered promptly.

"Hello? Yes, this is Vice Commander Fuyutsuki." Kozo said into the phone. There was a brief silence as Kozo listened to what the person on the other line had to say. Then Kozo responded. "I understand. Thank you." With that, Kozo hung up and placed the phone back on its holder.

"Our limousine is ready for departure. We are required back at Nerv immediately."

"What for?"

"That was Ritsuko. I think he's back."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8 - Turbulent Waters**

6:01 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Off the coast of Japan, above the Mariana Trench.

It is time to bring up the last of the nets for the day. It is uncertain whether our endeavors will amount to anything, but we all hope dearly that we will return home with a plentiful catch. I wipe the salty brine from my face as the procedure commences. It is, in fact, very monotonous and habitual to perform such tasks, but they are nonetheless arduous.

Captain Hiroshi Naomi shouts out the commands as the ritual begins anew. Our skiff man, Haruki Ichirou, attends his station, entering into his smaller retrieval boat to fetch the nets to be hauled aboard. His boat is slowly lowered into the churning waves, and before we know it the small vessel speeds off to claim our prize. The radio crackles as the captain keeps in touch with the skiff, making sure he is on target. His mission is quickly completed and he returns with the first net of the night. As the skiff returns to the side of boat, the rest of us prepare to bring up the net, the most physically demanding part of the job. I seize hold of the net as it comes into reach, along with the rest of the crew designated to this task, and we secure it to the winch hanging overhead. The mechanisms slowly begins to turn, and the net slowly breaks the surface. This is where we can finally see if our efforts have amounted to any fruit. The catch is indeed lacking in size, and we are all a little disappointed, but we must continue the process, regardless. When the net is finally raises completely out of the waters, we move it towards the center of the boat, where we let the catch tumble onto the deck to be stored in the hull. As for me and my team, we are tasked with sorting and stacking the different parts of the net in their designated locations.

As we work, my good friend Yuuma Takahiro leaned over and began to speak, "Nothing like being out at sea, eh Kiyoshi?"

"It's harder when you have a family." I responded. The task we conducted in was completed quickly, as we are all skilled in the repetitive art, and the skiff soon speeds off again to retrieve our next net. In his absence, the fading light is ominously quiet. The captain waits for a response to herald his return, but none appears.

The waters around us began to glisten below the twisting waves. We gazed overboard to see massive shoals of tuna darting underneath our ship. They seemed distressed, as if they were being chased. As this transpired, the captain's radio crackled and the skiff's voice flowed through the static. The signal was slightly jammed, and the captain had a hard time understanding him, but his vessel soon returned and we were able to hear from him first-hand what he wished to convey.

"Bring up the skiff! We have to leave!" Haruki spoke.

"What is the matter?" The captain asked.

"Something big is coming. We must leave this place, now, before it is too late!" He shouted, his words bewildering the crew. Just as he finished, the familiar sound of a whale's spout rocketed upwards as a large Sperm Whale rose to the surface.

"Is this your 'something big?'" The captain chuckled. However, he would soon eat his words, as more of the deep-sea mammals began to break the waves around the ship. It was an entire pod, surfacing for air, or so we originally thought. As we observed the gentle giants, we discovered that, like the tuna before them, they too displayed behavioral signs of distress.

"What could cause the whale to flee?" I wondered. My question was soon answered, and I had wished I had not asked it. The waters began to thrash at a much more violently pace than they had previously been. They gave way as an enormous mass rose from the depths. Blades of a jagged coal pieced the surface, slashing the waves into churning froth.

"Target approaching from the port bow!" Yuuma shouted. The captain rushed up to the control room to move the boat out of the titan's path. He went straight for the engine, igniting it with great haste. He then grabbed ahold of the steering wheel and began to move our vessel out of the way of the approaching beast. We held on to the rails for dear life as the creature approached, forming an immense wake before it. The boat attempted to shift away from the creature's massive wake but, as it approached, it became increasingly hard to avoid the turbulent waters it created. It was as if we were caught before the bow of a massive oil tanker, only the scale was exponentially larger. We feared for our lives, as it seemed as if the boat would never be able to escape the creature's path in time. We were sure the ship would be capsized, crushed below the weight of such a massive being. We were lucky. The enormous body passed, and our ship was just barely spared, only receiving a slight tear from a blade-like protrusion extending from the creature's thorned skin. We looked outwards as the creature continued on its path, ignoring our existence, and heading towards the mainland. An ominous, ghostly aura hung over the crew. Our hearts skipped a beat, for we knew that we had just been faced with death. Our faces became pale, stripped of color by utter terror. Even the captain was petrified by the experience.

When we finally managed to calm ourselves after the incident, the captain went straight for the radio. He knew he needed to get in contact with someone.

"Hello, this is the captain of the S.S. Gold Dragon." He called out over the microphone, hoping for a response from the shipyard, "My crew was attacked by a massive creature heading towards the mainland, over." The radio frequency was silent, only dispersing static from the other end. Then came a familiar voice.

"S.S. Gold Dragon, what is the matter?" The coastguard asked from the other end.

"My ship was nearly capsized. I believe that he is back, and he is heading towards the mainland."

"Are you sure it is him?"

"Positive. I saw him with my own eyes. Those spines, they are unmistakable."

"Is your crew alright?"

"They are fine, for now. The encounter has left my vessel intact, but not without damage. I believe we are beginning to slowly take on water. We shall return back to shore immediately, but this message needs to be sent to the Japanese Self Defense Force. They need to be informed about his return."

"Understood."

6:13 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

With the Kantei building, Tokyo, Japan.

The Prime Minister's assistant, Kenji Daichi, came barging into his superior's private office, clearly with poignant news. "Mr. Toshiro Yamamoto, we have a report from a fishing vessel out of Osaka Bay. He might have a confirmed sighting."

"A confirmed sighting of what?" the Prime Minister asked.

"Of him." his assistant responded.

"Have our sonars picked up anything?"

"Affirmative, sir. Something large is approaching from the deep Pacific."

"I want to see this for myself." The Prime Minister demanded, rising out of his chair to follow his assistant to the military wing of the building. Kenji arrived first, opponent the door for his superior. The two entered the dimly-lit room, where the analytics teams were hard at work. The row of computers were all occupied, and those stationed at them were all furiously typing.

"Bring up the map of the coastline." The Prime Minister demanded.

"Yes, Mr. The Prime Minister." One of the female Lieutenants replied as she worked hastily to fulfill the Prime Minister's orders. In no time at all, the screen on the other end of the room lit up and a map of the Japanese coastline was displayed with a large red dot flashing near Tokyo Bay.

"Switch to thermal readings and zoom in. I want a closer look." The Prime Minister demanded. His staff did as they were told, and soon the screen changed from a general blue for the vast ocean to a mix of colors as the thermal readings displayed different current temperatures across the stretch of water shown. The red dot was still burning bright. The screen began to zoom in on the dot, which grew larger and more brightly colored. As the screen zoomed in closer, the distinct features of the beats became clear. A thick body, followed by a long, sweeping tail behind, and it was all blisteringly hot.

"Speed and size checks out. Vital signs are all positive. It's definitely him." One of the male Lieutenants stated.

"But why has he returned now? What purpose does he have in attacking us, after all this time?"

"I can't say, Mr. Prime Minister." Kenjo replied. There was a pause as all present observed the movement of the beast.

"Calculate the trajectory of the target." The Prime Minister demanded.

"Calculating trajectory now, sir." The female Lieutenant replied. Moments later, lines began to appear across the screen, crossing through the red dot and following through to the intersection point of Hakone, Japan. "Target appears to be heading towards Hakone."

"Isn't that where Tokyo-3 is situated?" Kenjo asked.

"Affirmative." The Prime Minister paused, sneering a bit, "Track the target. I want a visual on him as soon as he makes landfall." He ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Summon the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Forces. I wanted G-Force artillery out there yesterday."

"But, sir, G-Force artillery hasn't been used in almost two decades."

"I don't care. I want a perimeter formed around the coast immediately, and those weapons are the only ones that have any effect on him."

"Yes, sir, as you wish."

"All citizens within a 50 mile radius from the shore to Tokyo-3 need to be evacuated. We cannot afford casualties. We've been caught enough off-guard as it is."

"Yes, sir."

"And someone get in contact with the representative at Nerv! I want to see what the hell they're doing down there to provoke him."

"Right away, Mr. Prime Minister!" Kenjo responded, heading off immediately after for the phone. The Prime Minister himself, having given out his orders, exit the tumultuous room in the direction of his office. He had other connections to get in contact with.

He returned to his desk and went straight for his personal phone, dialing up the Seele line without reference, for he knew it well. The phone started to right and, within no time, the person he wished to speak with was on the line.

"Hello, Mr. Yamamoto, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Chairman Lorenz declared in his usual formality.

"Spare me, Keel, I have a situation here."

"What kind of situation?"

"A Daikiaju situation."

"Don't tell me he's back!"

"I wish I couldn't, but I'd be lying."

"You can't be serious!"

"I wouldn't contact you if it wasn't of the utmost importance. He's heading straight towards your facilities, as well; straight for Tokyo-3."

"No, he can't be! What on Earth would have provoked him?!"

"We don't know yet. I was hoping you'd have an answer to that." There was a pause as Chairman Lorenz pondered the situation.

"Damn, that blood bastard!" He again paused to collect his thoughts, "Commander Ikari has been conducting in some suspicious affairs down there. Perhaps he is to blame for all of this."

"Perhaps, and that is why I have my assistant contacting his facilities as we speak."

"I shall do the same. This is indeed dire news. The Dead Sea Scrolls did not predict this sort of situation. It could prove to be a major setback for our plans, one I simply will not tolerate."

"I understand. I am doing the best I can to stop his advancement. My forces are already en-route to intercept him when he makes landfall."

"Excellent. Let's just hope that Ikari doesn't decide to use the Evangelion Units against this threat. They are too precious to be destroyed in such a perilous endeavor."

"Indeed. Too much money was invested into those assets to simply have them be destroyed."

"Especially before their true purpose is served."

"You would know that best."

"Indeed I would." Chairman Lorenz paused again for a moment, then continued, "Well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you."

"As always."

"Make sure to keep me informed as the situation develops."

"Will do." The Prime Minister hung up, dropping his head into his hands, "My God… what a day, what a day."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9 - A Menace Sighted**

6:30 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

A strange ring awoke me from my turbulent slumber. As I sluggishly flailed my arms at the mysterious object, I realized the ringing came from my phone. Noticing the urgency, I raised myself up and ran over to my desk to pick up the phone. I answered the phone, gave out a large yawn, then spoke with a lazy tone.

"Hello?" I grumbled.

"Hi Misato, this is Ritsuko." She answered.

"Oh... Hi, Ritsuko." I paused to let out another yawn. "W-why are you calling at this hour?"

"Misato, it's 6:30 in the afternoon, what do you mean 'at this hour?' Where you sleeping?"

"I was just taking a little nap..."

"Sure you were… Have you been sleeping well lately?"

"It's on and off. It's been a little bit better since I found Shinji, but God knows how long it'll last. I've been taking care of him as best I can so he doesn't run away again, but keeping an eye on him is hard work. He's running me into the ground."

"That explains it. Anyways, that's not important right now. Get dressed and get yourself over here; we need you."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Something is approaching the coast; something big."

"Is it another Angel?"

"All of the Angels were supposed to be destroyed, but I've seen stranger things. Honestly, I don't know what it is at this point. What I do know is that we need you over here, now! The Commander is on his way back to HQ as we speak. He should be here any minute. Make sure you bring Shinji, too, just in case."

"Alright, I'm on my way. Thanks, Ritsuko." I said as I rose to go get dressed.

"Just hurry." Ritsuko hung up. I placed my phone back on the counter and approached my closet, opened the sliding door and taking out my Nerv uniform. I knew that Shinji would not be excited about the news. I had already promised he would never have to pilot Eva again, and I was determined to keep that promise.

Alone with his thoughts, Shinji was in his personal bedroom, protected by four ways around him. He had finished his chores for the day and just wanted to spend some time alone. Laying on his futon with his head caressed between his arms in complete silence, Shinji couldn't help but start thinking about Rei. He always had feelings for Rei since the moment he laid eyes on her on that fateful day in 2050, but he was spineless and unable to admit his feelings. Poor Shinji had gone through some of the worst experiences of his life during the past few years, but Rei was always there to put a smile on his face.

He had grown to love everything about her: her short, blue hair, her dazzling ruby eyes, her expressionless, pale face. He even enjoyed the matching pairs of clothes she wore every day, despite the fact they were dull and unfashionable. She was perfect and Shinji loved her just the way she was, only he never had the guts to ask if she had the same feelings for him.

Shinji couldn't help but remember the first day he set eyes on her elegance. Thoughts of her beautiful form bound by numerous bandages wrapped in medicinal tape, heavily wounded by previous attempts for her to sync with her Eva, just saddened him to his core. When Shinji realized how long ago that was, a little over a years to be exact, he couldn't help but realize how pathetic he looked. His eyes began to swell up as tears welled beneath them. He wanted to cry but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. He knew the only thing that could ease his aching heart was Rei, but he also knew his own self-doubt would keep him from her warm embrace.

Shinji was trapped by his own emotions, unable to break free, even for the woman he loved. He needed something to get his mind off of it, something to ease his pain. Just as he tried to empty his mind of his turbulent thoughts, Misato called.

"Shinji, get your shoes on, we have to go." I called out.

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked as he open his room's door to see what was going on.

"We have to go to Nerv. Ritsuko says they're having some issues over there and she wants us down there."

"What sort of issues?"

"I'll explain later. Right now you need to get ready. We're leaving in 5 minutes."

"O-okay..." Shinji was a little suspicious, but he seemed to trust me enough now to play along with my wishes. He closed the door to his room to get ready. While he was preparing himself, I myself was ensuring all my affairs were in order. I brushed my hair to get out the naughts from my little nap and reapplied makeup to my face to make sure I didn't look too disheveled. I'm sure Shinji could hear my hurried panic as I tried to get myself ready, but there wasn't enough time to concern myself with such minor details. While I was finishing dressing near the kitchen table, Shinji exited his room, ready for the outing. I was still buttoning my shirt. Shinji looked away as I messily tidied myself before him, trying not to look while I wasn't fully decent. This made me happy. He was a good kid; not one to stoop down to such low levels of perversions. When I finally got to the door, I was almost completely out of breath and just barely in passable attire.

"You're a mess sometimes, Misato." Shinji chuckled as he handed me my jacket and my purse.

"Don't rub it in." I replied as I took my belongings from Shinji, "Now, come on, we can't be late."

"I was the one waiting for you."Shinji opened the door for me. She paused right in front of him, midway through the doorway.

"You don't always have to be a smart-ass." I said in a humorous tone as I ruffling up Shinji's hair, "But thanks for caring." I exited the building and got out my keys from my purse. Shinji closed the door behind us and locked it. I was already at the elevator by that point. I pushed the down button several times, impatiently waiting for the elevator to reach our level. Shinji approached from behind as the elevator doors open and we both walked in. I pressed the button directing the elevator to the garage level. The doors closed and it was soon dead silent. I was tapping my foot against the floor, clearly anxious, but I could tell the silence in the elevator was a little awkward. I broke the silence by asking Shinji a question.

"How was school today?"

"It was alright."

"Is Toji back or is he still in rehab?"

"He's back now, but he's still a little sore."

"He doesn't blame you for what happened, does he?"

"I-I don't want to talk about it." I knew I had touched on a very sensitive topic for Shinji and thought it best if I stopped. There was a slight pause before someone spoke again. Shinji and I tried to say something at the exact same time, cutting each other off. I insisted that he go first.

"Why are we going to Nerv?" I did not want to answer the question, knowing it might alarm Shinji, but I had no means of deflecting the subject. Luckily, the doors of the elevator opened, giving me something to turn the subject on.

"Come on, let's go." Shinji seemed to know that I was avoiding the question, but he didn't bother to mention it until we entered the car. I jumped in before Shinji, who slowly took his seat beside me. We buckled up and I brought the car to life. Only then did Shinji speak again.

"You didn't answer my question, Misato. Why are we going to Nerv now?" As he spoke, I drove up to the gate. I took out my ID and showed it to the guard. He pressed a button and the barriers slowly raised themselves.

"Have a good day, Miss Katsuragi." The man said.

"You, too." I replied. With that, we were on the open road. Shinji persisted with his question, knowing there would be no more distractions.

"Misato, why are we going to Nerv?" I let out a large sigh.

"Alright, it's only fair that you know… Ritsuko said there is something approaching the bay that is large enough to concern Nerv."

"Do you mean... no, not another Angel! But, but they were all supposed to be destroyed? There can't be another one! Y-you said I would never have to pilot that damn thing again! Misato, you promised!"

"I know, I know, just hear me out. Ritsuko did not say it was an Angel. She actually said she doesn't know what it is. It could just be nothing, but she wants me there just in case, and she wanted me to bring you along as well."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's nothing. Everything is going to be fine, Shinji. Trust me, I will protect you." I was a little unsure of what I had said, but I didn't want to alarm Shinji any further. The rest of the ride was mostly silent. I wanted to say something, but I thought better of it. When we reached Nerv, I took out my Nerv badge to show the security guard at the front gate. The man nodded his head and directed me to the private Nerv garage. I drove in and pulled into the car elevator. A mechanism clicked and soon we were lowered down to HQ in the underground bunker of the GeoFront. Shinji always thought the view was gorgeous as we traveled down, but today he didn't seem too impressed today. He looked like something was bothering him, and I couldn't blame him. When we reached Nerv HQ at the bottom of the GeoFront, the elevator came to a stop and I exited the vehicle. I patted my messy skirt as Shinji exited behind me.

"Alright, let's see what this is all about." I said as I swung my purse over my shoulder and walked towards the elevator to the center of Nerv. Shinji stood beside me, silent and trying to keep calm. The elevator quickly came and brought us up to the main floor where the command center resided at the end of the hall. I walked swiftly down the hall and Shinji picked up the pace to keep at my side. The sound of my boots clicking as they pressed down against the terrazzo floor echoed within the corridors. As we approached the command center, I could hear voices from beyond the doors. I pushed open the doors to reveal the massive command center beyond. Shinji was used to this sort of environment, as was I, but today it felt more ominous than usual. A thick red blip was flashing on the enormous radar screen, heading straight for our location.

"What are we dealing with here?" I asked as I climbed to the crow's nest.

"We're still not sure." Ritsuko replied.

"Is it an Angel?" I asked.

"Hard to say with our readings." Ritsuko continued.

"Have the Magi run a Blood Type scan." I ordered. Shinji followed close behind me, as he had been doing since we left the car. When he got to the top, he noticed that Rei was already present in her plug suit, as well as the usual cast of characters. The Commander—his father—was also present in his usual seat on the highest balcony with the Vice-Commander by his side. Shinji just kept his head down.

"Running Blood Type test..." First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga stated from his seat in the front of the crow's nest. There was a short silence as the data was computed.

"Blood Type confirmed... It-it-it doesn't have a Blood Type..." Lieutenant Makoto exclaimed with a great level of shock.

"What do you mean it doesn't have a Blood Type?" I snapped back.

"There is no other way to describe it... it-it's not an Angel." First Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba replied.

"Is-is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Shinji butted in.

"I don't know, Shinji, but everything is going to be okay, regardless of what it is. Everything is under control." I replied reassuringly.

"Well, if it's not an Angel, then what is it?" Ritsuko asked.

"There's no way of telling. It's an unknown entity." Lieutenant Shigeru stated.

"Can we at least get some dimensions on the thing, or perhaps a visual." I asked as I crossed my arms.

"Running diagnostics..." Lieutenant Makoto replied, "The Magi put it's size at 108.2 meters tall and 231.84 meters long."

"That's over 355 feet!" Ritsuko shouted.

"What's it's weight?" I asked impatiently.

"The Magi say it's over 90,000 metric tons." Lieutenant Makoto replied.

"That's enormous! How can it not be an Angel?" I exclaimed.

"We've checked and rechecked the data: the Magi insists that it is not an Angel." Lieutenant Shigeru replied.

"Ma'am, target is approaching shore. What should we do?" Lieutenant Maya asked.

"Do we have a visual?" I insisted.

"A visual has been obtained. Sending feed to the main screen." Lieutenant Shigeru stated. As he spoke, he typed furiously on his keyboard and, within moments, the visual feed was up on the mammoth screen. Massive blade-like structures jutted out from the surface of the water, cutting through the waves of the bay like stone knives through butter. Below these blades, a massive black form was moving forward in the surf. I could tell the form was massive, but the details were obscured by the turbulent waves the creature created with its very presence.

"If that thing makes landfall, it'll kill millions of people!" Ritsuko shouted, "We have to dispatch the Evas!"

"I agree. Even if this thing isn't an Angel, it must be stopped before it can wreak havoc on the countryside." I said.

"But, we don't know the intentions of this creature. What if it's peaceful?" Lieutenant Makoto suggested.

"We can't take that risk. Lives are at stake here." I replied, disclaiming what Makoto said.

"But, just to be fair, what does the Magi say about what we should do?"

"Running diagnostics." There was a long pause as the system computed, "That-that's not possible!" Lieutenant Makoto shouted.

"What? What did the Magi say?" Ritsuko asked in a worried tone.

"The Magi says we should avoid conflict at all costs, unanimously!" Lieutenant Makoto exclaimed, shocked by the results.

"What?! The Magi are never unanimous in their decision! Is that even possible? What is this thing?!" Ritsuko shouted, slightly horrified.

"Disregard the Magi's orders." The Commander broke in.

"What did you say, commander?" I asked.

"Disregard the Magi's orders. Dispatch the Evas immediately. Destroy the target." He stated blankly, his gaze refusing to waver from the mammoth screen.

"Should we call in the military for help?" I asked.

"Conventional weaponry won't have any effect. Besides, if it's truly him, they already know." The Commander replied, still motionless in his iconic posture.

"But, sir, it has no A.T. field. It's not an Angel, why wouldn't conventional weaponry have an affect? And wait, what do you mean by 'him?'" I asked, a little confused by the Commander's statement.

"Trust me, I know. It won't have any effect." He responded, disregarding my second question. As the Commander finished his statement, the phone beside him began to ring. Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki reach his hand out to take the call, but the Commander raised his own hand to intercept that of Fuyutsuki.

"Leave it." The Commander said. Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki seemed a bit confused, but he nodded, understanding his position, and returned to his vigil.

6:52 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Kantei, Tokyo, Japan.

As the Prime Minister pondered to himself, wondering what the best plan of action to peruse next was, Kenjo pushed his way into the Prime Minister's office, a phone in hand. Prime Minister Yamamoto raised his head at the sound of the opening door, interest to hear what information his assistant had obtained.

"My apologies, Mr. Prime Minister, but I was unable to get in contact with someone at Nerv. They refuse to pick up." Prime Minister Yamamoto slammed his fist against his desk, nearly knocking over a photo of his daughter he had set at its edge.

"Dammit! Keel was right, Gendo is behind all of this, and he knows it, too! He's doing this on purpose, just to spite me!"

"Should I try contacting them again?" Kenjo asked.

"No, there is no purpose. Ikari is stubborn. If he's refusing to answer my calls, then he will be persistent with that decision. Forget it now; we'll manage him later. For now, I want to know what is happening with our target. Have all citizens been evacuated?

"The JSSDF is in the process of evacuating the region as we speak."

"Good. And what of my G-Forces? Has a perimeter been made?"

"Awaiting your orders, sir."

"Excellent. With any luck, perhaps we can drive him away before he causes too much damage. Damn, if only I knew what he's after."

Nerv HQ, Tokyo-3, Japan.

I was not pleased with the response I was given, but I knew questioning the Commander too much would only get me into trouble, so I accepted my answer and returned my attention to the dilemma at hand. I turned around and looked at Shinji.

"Shinji, I..."

"No, Misato, you promised! I'm not doing it!" Shinji cut me off.

"What is he talking about?" Ritsuko asked suspiciously.

"It's complicated..." I said, trying to avoid the question.

"He said 'you promised.' What does he mean by that?" Ritsuko persisted. There was a long pause as I searched for the words, realizing there was no way to avoid the inevitable.

"I-I told him he would never have to pilot Eva again..." I reluctantly replied.

"You did what?! How could you make such an ignorant promise?!" Ritsuko exclaimed.

"I had to! Shinji was in a mental breakdown! I had to give him a sense of security, a place where he could be safe! It was the only way to get him to come home..." I admitted.

"So, it was all just a lie?" Shinji asked, as if he had been tricked. I never intended for it to be a trick, but it became increasingly apparent that I did indeed promise him the impossible.

"No, Shinji, it was not a lie. I meant every word of what I said." I tried to comfort him.

"Be reasonable, Misato, you can't keep that promise. Shinji is going to have to pilot again. He has to, for the safety of Japan, for the safety of the world." Ritsuko broke it to me.

"I knew it… " As Shinji spoke, he ran out the door.

"No, Shinji, wait!" I cried as I tried to pursue him, but it was already too late. He was gone.

"Great, now we've lost two pilots… " Ritsuko snapped as she crossed her arms.

"Asuka's still in rehab?" I asked.

"Until further notice." Ritsuko irritatingly replied.

"So the only pilot we have is Rei?" I asked.

"Thanks to you." Ritsuko snorted.

"Do you really think he would have piloted anyways? After what happened with Kaworu?" I snapped back, irritated by Ritsuko's tone.

"I don't know, maybe." Ritsuko replied as if to an unimportant question.

"Oh, spare me. You know damn well that he wouldn't have!" I scowled.

"Well, there's always a possible, at least there's supposed to be. Now there's no chance of him piloting, now is there?" Ritsuko stated with a tone of annoyance in her voice. I let out a faint sigh before I responded again.

"I guess that'll have to do." I paused for a moment, "Rei, are you ready for insertion?"

"Yes." She responded blankly.

"Good. Is the new Eva Unit ready?" I asked.

"Affirmative. Evangelion Unit-05 is on standby." Lieutenant Maya answered.

"Has Rei been successful synced to her new Eva yet?" I asked.

"Affirmative. She's had three successful sync tests in the past few weeks. One on the 1st, another on the 8th, and finally one on the 12th." Lieutenant Maya continued.

"Excellent, then we shall proceed immediately. Rei, assume your position and await further instructions." I ordered.

"As you wish." Rei stated blankly as she turned towards the Evangelion storage room and walked off.

"How far is the target?" I demanded.

"Target is approaching shore. Estimated time of landfall is 12 minutes, 52 seconds." Lieutenant Shigeru declared.

"That's not a lot of time, but we can work with it." I started, pausing briefly, "Send out an evacuation warning. Make sure all inhabitants of Tokyo-3 report to the Civil Defense Shelters immediately."

"Yes, Major." Lieutenant Maya answered.

"God, I hope this works." I said to myself.

"It has to." Ritsuko interjected, "If it doesn't, who knows what could happen."

"The Magi's response is very concerning." I said.

"We've never gotten such a rash response. She must be very adamant about this decision, but that never happens. I fear we could finally be in over our heads." Ritsuko explained.

"Is that even possible?" I asked.

"There are some things in this world even we don't understand." Ritsuko paused for a moment, lowering her voice before continuing "I feel as if the commander is withholding information from us."

"I'm getting the same feeling." I replied.

"Well, if he is, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's just hope he's wrong, for all our sakes." Ritsuko chuckled slightly.

"Let's." I paused for a moment, "Is Unit-05 ready?"

"Cooling process completed." a male Nerv operator responded as the crimson binding agent surrounding the Eva's body was liquified and quickly drained.

"Cage now in position for docking." another male Nerv operator continued.

"Signal plug terminator now being ejected." Lieutenant Maya added.

"Roger. Inserting entry plug." the male Nerv operator responded. Two plates at the back of Eva Unit-05's neck hissed as they began to move, pulling away from each other, revealing a circular opening for the Entry Plug. The Entry Plug was mechanically placed within the opening, fitting snugly. Once secure, the safety equipment released control of the Entry Plug, which twisted into locking position within the opening. With the Entry Plug in place, the two plates returned to locking position, protecting the region in a thick layer of armor. "Insertion complete. Entry Plug locked in place."

"Connect to Unit-01." the other male operator stated. With the Entry Plug secured, it quickly began to fill with LCL liquid, consuming Rei's lungs with the blood-scented orange liquid. Rei seemed very calm and indifferent about the great responsibility that was placed on her shoulders with piloting, but that was not unusual for her.

"Connecting main power." the male operator stated.

"All circuits transmitting." the other male Nerv operator added.

"Roger." a female Nerv operator responded.

"Connecting secondary contact. Nerv connection normal." Lieutenant Maya added.

"All preliminary contacts established. Performance nominal." another female Nerv operator continued.

"Spy directional circuits are open." Lieutenant Maya stated.

"Synchronization rate?" I asked.

"Synchronization ratio at 53.6%." Lieutenant Maya responded.

"Good, very good." I stated.

"Harmonics seem to be normal. I see no disturbances." Lieutenant Maya added.

"Excellent, everything is going according to plan. It seems those sync tests were not a complete waste." Ritsuko stated.

"Are all systems operational?" I asked.

"Affirmative. All systems nominal. We are ready for launch." Lieutenant Maya replied.

"Good, Rei, are you ready?" I asked over the microphone.

"Yes." Rei replied in a monotone voice.

"Excellent. Begin launch sequence." I ordered.

"Beginning launch sequence." the male Nerv operator repeated, "Removing primary lock bolts."

"Removal confirm." the other male Nerv operator responded.

"Removing the umbilical bridge. Removing secondary lock bolts." the male operator continued.

"Removing primary restraint. Removing secondary restraint." the other male operator added.

"Releasing safety locks number 1-15." the final male operator stated.

"Internal battery fully charged." the male operator stated.

"External battery outlet closed." the other male operator stated.

"Roger." Lieutenant Maya responded, "Move Eva Unit-05 to the launch pad." The Eva was mechanically hauled over to the launch pad upon its docking unit. Once it reached the launch pad, it was secured, locked in place, and the security hatches began to unseal above it. "Launch path clear. All systems green."

"Evangelion Unit-05 is ready for launch." Ritsuko stated.

"Understood. Can we really do this, commander?" I asked one final time before launching.

"Unless we defeat this target, we have no future." The Commander responded, completely unfazed.

"You said the same thing when the first Angel attacked." The Vice-Commander interjected.

"And in both instances I meant what I said." Commander Ikari replied.

"Ikari, are you absolutely certain?" Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki once again asked. The only sign of acknowledgment from the Commander was a slight snicker that crept onto his face. I noted this and quickly gave out the orders.

"Eva launch!" I demanded.

Eva Unit-05 was dispatched to dispose of the approaching intruder at precisely 7:12 P.M. The inhabitants of the city were informed of the approaching intruder and evacuated to Civil Defense Shelters located around the city's perimeter where they would be safe while the Eva destroyed the target.

"Are you sure this is going to work? She hasn't gone up against an enemy in quite a while now and she could still be shaken up about what happened last time." Lieutenant Makoto asked, a little hesitant.

"Plus, the Magi's response is still very worrisome." Lieutenant Maya continued.

"Considering our lack of knowledge on the target, results can vary substantially." Lieutenant Shigeru added.

"It has to." was my only reply.

The Eva was thrusted upwards to the surface. The access gate's warning lights at the surface began to flash and its sealed doors opened. Two extendable robs rose from the open cavity to provide extra support for the docking unit. As the Eva rose to ground level near the center of Tokyo-3, its docking unit locked perfectly into place, providing a level floor for the Eva to exit upon. Once in position, the Eva roared to life as Rei took control of the massive creation of man. She began to maneuver the cybernetic creature, taking tentative steps at first. She was still not entirely used to moving her new unit. It was similar to her old Eva, but yet not the same. Her umbilical cable trailed her movements, providing life-sustaining energy to the cybernetic colossus. Once she obtained a firm grip on the controls, she set a course for the nearest weapons catch to arm herself before engagement.

6:29 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Manazuru Coast, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

As per Prime Minister Yamamoto's orders, the JSSDF was deployed to evacuate civilians and set up a perimeter around the stretch of beach where the target was calculated to make landfall.

Type 73 APCs appeared on the scene first to deploy their battalions of troops, followed close behind by KV-107 II Helicopters and Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys. They set up orderly evacuation routes for civilians out of the danger zone and began to organize the movement of heavy artillery to the front lines. First of the combat artillery vehicles were the Type 96 APC Grenade Launchers, followed by Type 74 and Type 90 Tanks. Next came the M110A2 Self-Propelled Howitzer Tanks, Challenger 2 MBT Tanks, and T-80 Tanks, deployed alongside the Type 75 MSSR Missile Launchers, Type 88 SSM Missile Launchers, Ballistic Missile Launchers, Full Metal Missile Launchers, BM-30 Smerch Missile Launchers, M-270 MLRS Missile Launchers, and AMX-10 RC Tank Destroyers. Finally came the true heavy-hitters: the maser units. Hyper Laser Cannons, MBT-92 Maser Tanks, MBAW-93 Maser Tanks, and Type 90 Maser Cannons rolled in as the ultimate in mobile anti-Daikaiju military technology.

Above these lines of army forces, the air forces entered the scene. F-1 CCV Fighter Jets, F-16 Fighting Falcon Fighter Jets, F-7J Fighter Jets, Sukhoi Su-34 Strike Fighter Jets, and Yakovlev Yak-38 Fighter Jets shot across the sky, circling the coastline for any signs of the approaching target. Even ASTOL-MB93s, Jet Fighters equipped with maser technology, made an appearance on the scene. Following these were the helicopter units. UH-1B Hueys, AH-1 Cobras, AH-64 Apaches, and AH-1S Helicopters hovered just above the ground units, prepared to engage on order. Above all these came the Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOLs, the latest in aerial combat technology. Highly maneuverable through Vertical Take-Off and Landing technology, these gunships are unmatched in the skies in efficiency against foes of such a size.

Last to make an appearance were the the navy forces. DD-122 Hatsuyuki Class Destroyers and DDH-142 Haruna Class Destroyers filed into the bay to form a resistance wall. IJN Hatsuyuki Destroyers followed suit to strengthen the wall. Aircraft carriers filled with Sukhoi Su-33 Naval Fighter Jets were the last of the force to appear, strengthening both the naval and aerial support.

This was a full-scale military operation. It was well beyond clear that whatever was heading straight for the shore was no force to be taken lightly.

While the military forces were setting up, the civilian inhabitant were safely evacuated out of the line of fire. Behind all the lines of offensive infantry and military artillery, a lone G-Force Chopper landed near the Type 82 Command Vehicles stationed about a two clicks from the shoreline, far enough away to avoid direct conflict but still close enough to observe the action. Out of the chopper, General Osamu Hibiki stepped onto the unpaved soil, followed close behind by Lieutenant General Hayato Yuudai. They made their way towards the line of Command Vehicles, refusing to acknowledge as the G-Force Chopper proceeded to take off and leave the battlefield behind them. As they walked, Colonel Tsubasa Shota came running over to inform them of the situation.

"Sir, all lines of defenses are stationed and ready on your command." The Colonel stated, standing straight and saluting before his superior officer.

"Tank battalions are in place? Alongside the missile launchers and maser cannons?" General Hibiki asked.

"Affirmative, sir."

"And we have air support?" As he asked, a line of F-7J fighters streaked across the sky above him.

"Affirmative, sir."

"Good, and the naval forces are in position?"

"Ready on your orders, General."

"Excellent work." General Hibiki stated, "Now all we have to do is wait for that ugly bastard to rear his ungodly head."

"Godly might be a better way to describe him, sir." Lieutenant General Yuudai interjected.

"Don't remind me." General Hibiki retorted, "We are still tasked with sending him away, at any rate." The General made his way over to the hill he was situated on overlooking the lowlands just before the vast sea. All he could see before him were waves upon waves of military artillery, just as he wanted. While he marveled at the awe-inspiring force before him, all his to command, Major Shichirou Shouhei came running over to his position with a walking-talkie in hand.

"General, orders have come in from the Prime Minister. He says the creature has entered the bay and should be visible within moments."

"Hand me that walkie-talkie, Major." The General ordered.

"Yes, sir." The Major gladly relinquished his walkie-talkie to the General, who tuned it to the frequency of the head navy vessel. Aboard, the man to pick up was the Chief Admiral, Akiro Yuuta.

"Chief Admiral Yuuta?" General Hibiki stated over the comm.

"Are we prepared to commence, General?" Chief Admiral Yuuta asked.

"We have news from the Prime Minister. He says the target has entered the bay. Do you have a visual?" Chief Admiral Yuuta put down the walkie-talkie for a moment to see if visual was made.

"Captain Kaito, do we have a visual on the target?" He demanded.

"Negative, Admiral, target still has not surfaced." The Captain replied. Just as he finished, he ate his words. "No, wait, visual has been made! Target is surfacing!" He exclaimed. Chief Admiral Yuuta returned his attention to the General.

"Yes, a visual has been made. He's about 10 clicks out." As the Admiral spoke, the General turned his attention to the waters before him. He, too, could see the disturbance approaching. The massive girth of the beast was visible even from his distance with much clarity. The once calms waters of the bay soon became churned into violent waves as the monstrous beast approached shore. The creature's three rows of dorsal spines slashing through the surf.

"I see him. Hold your position, you are not to engage until he surfaces completely. I will give out the order."

"Yes, General." Chief Admiral Yuuta replied, changing the frequency of his walkie-talkie to speak to the rest of his naval forces, "Orders are in from General Hibiki. We are not to engage until he has completely surfaced. We only have one shot at this, so make it count." The Captains of each vessel acknowledged the orders and prepared for battle. While the Chief Admiral relayed orders to his fleet, General Hibiki gave out his orders to his own men. The troops were prepared, and anxious.

From the head navy vessel, one of the Lieutenants spoke up.

"Sir, the target is almost upon us. 2 clicks."

"Be ready, men!"

"Wait, the target seems to be diving." Another Lieutenant interjected.

"What?!" The Chief Admiral exclaimed. He headed for the window to observe the approaching beast himself. The blades that slashed through the surface were getting ever-closer, but as they approached, they began to shrink, disappearing below the surface. Within moments, they were gone. However, the wave of water created by the sheer girth of the beast continued where he didn't.

"Brace for impact, men!" The Chief Admiral yelled out. The men aboard braced as the wave crashed into the side of the destroyer. The massive vessel was struck hard, and it titled heavily as the water plowed into its starboard side. The men were hurled back and forth as the boat struggled to stabilize itself after the collision. When the vessel finally started to settle, the waters around it were calm and peaceful. This troubled the Chief Admiral.

"I don't like the look of this. Keep your eyes peeled, men, he could be anywhere." The silence was palpable, and very ominous. No one knew where the Leviathan was, but they all knew he was far from gone.

Then, without warning, the waters below one of the DD-122 Hatsuyuki Class Destroyers about midway through the naval wall began to rise and, before anyone had time to react, the ship split in two, detonating violently. The explosion sent a shockwave outwards which offset the naval fleet.

As the smoke from the explosion started to clear, the creature became exposed rising above the plume. The creature towered above the JSSDF's fleet. Water poured down from his thick, leathery charcoal hide. A distinctly saurian appearance was prevalent within the creature's frame. An upright posture allowed by strong, muscular legs gave the creature a sturdy, erect gate. His arms were just as brawny, and so were his square jaws, lined with rows of crooked, dagger-like teeth that extended from his flashing gums like railroad spikes. Smoke poured from the beast's nostrils. Chief Admiral Yuuta was astounded by the sheer size of the beast. It's girth was incredible. He was even bigger than he remembered. By far the most striking feature of the monstrosity standing before his fleet, however, was a myriad of pale, spiky structures jutting out of the creature's back like an infinity of jagged blades thrusting upwards in a deadly maze or conical spines.

"Fire!" General Hibiki shouted over the radio lines across all the forces he commanded over. Everyone began to unload. The tanks and missile launchers began to bombard the target from the coastline while the fleets below did the same. The vastness of the attack caused smoke to shroud the target, but the forces refused to stop their assault. The maser cannons joined in, as did the air forces above, and the assault was at full-strength. The target became completely enveloped in smoke as the assault continued. When General Hibiki finally had no visuals on the target, he demanded his troops to halt their attack.

"Cease fire!" He ordered. The armada followed orders to a T, ceasing their operations as soon as the order was given. General Hibiki squinched his eyes to see if he could get a better look as the smoke began to clear. The first feature of the beast to clear the smoke was his jagged dorsal spines, which began to crackle with a radiant blue aura. Next came his gaping maw, exposing leaping flames of nuclear energy from beyond his crooked teeth. The military forces became enveloped in a blue glow as the creature began to light up in retaliation.

"The assault was completely ineffect!" Lieutenant General Yuudai exclaimed.

"Hit him again!" General Hibiki demanded. The forces continued their assault, still to no avail. One of the army's Majors blasted the situation on the front lines to the General over the comm.

"Sir, our efforts are useless against hi—" before he could finish his statement, the beast unleashed his deadly halitosis against the army's battalion. Everything it touched was incinerated, both man and machine. The army's forces were almost completely obliterated in a single blow. Tanks, missile launchers, maser cannons, all were vaporized with a single blast from their unstoppable foe. The explosion caused as the beam collided with the coastline, gouging a hole in the very tectonic plate itself as it crossed the battlefield, was immense; blinding. When the titan ceased his unthinkable attack, another wave of bombardment plagued him. His jaws sealed, the last of his nuclear wrath seeping out from the back of his palate, but before he could continue his journey forward, a massive N² Mine collided with his forehead. From behind the battle lines, the massive non-nuclear explosives had been fired, upon direct orders from Prime Minister Yamamoto. More N² Mines crashed into the beast's body, the force of their collision crushing their fronts. The thrusters continued to force the collapsing missiles into the beast's body until the detonation was triggered. The battlefield was shattered as the explosion went off. What little remained of the army's battalions were launched away, completely destroyed. The navy was incinerated by the blast. General Hibiki raised his walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Admiral Yuuta, do you copy? Admiral Yuuta!" He shouted over the lines, but no one was left to respond to his calls. All were incinerated by the blast… all but one. When the smoke finally began to break apart and reveal the remnants of the attack, only one form stood: that of the target. Steam sizzled from his rouged skin, but he was unfazed.

"He-he's unstoppable!" Lieutenant General Yuudai said, shuddering as he spoke. Tears began to well up in the General's eyes as he clenched his teeth. His fists tightened in a blind rage.

"All surviving forces, destroy the target!" He raged. With little but a few remaining jets and a battalion of Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOLs, the assault commenced. The fighters streaked across the sky, unloading what left they had of their missiles on the target. The Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOLs circled, giving their enemy everything they had. One of the valiant pilots pushed forward to engage the target head-on, but he flew much too close to his quarry. The beast lashed out at the lone Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOL, crushing the hull of the aircrash between his burly fingers. What little remained of the aircraft was thrown into the beast's jaws, which made short work of the alloy. Little but shrapnel remained as the beast lowered the smoldering pile of metal and tossed it away. However, the battalion was not yet destroyed. The rest of Heavy Fighter Jet-VTOLs continued their assault mercilessly. However, their efforts were futile; all they succeeded in was rousing the wrath of the King.

Cerulean nuclear energy again began to seep from the beast's jaws. As the air force drew closer, the beast unleashed his wrath upon them, incinerating everything before him in a wave of blue death. His beam sliced through what remained of the resistance force, rocketing past them and again colliding into the countryside, gouging out another massive chunk of rock in a huge explosion. All of General Hibiki's forces were completely obliterated before his eyes. He could no longer control his rage.

"I'll kill you, you damn lizard! You hear me? I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" He raged upwards towards his enemy. The titan before him did not even register the cries of the General as he lumbered forward.

"He's coming this way!" The Lieutenant General shouted, sprinting towards the Command Vehicles in an attempt to escape. The Colonel followed close behind, but the General held his position. As the monster approached, his massive foot collided with the earth mere meters from the General's location, crushing the line of Command Vehicles and all present as his sole tore through the soft soil. The beast continued forward, tearing through the countryside and destroying everything in his wake. The General was utterly humiliated, but he would not have to sulk in his worthlessness for long. As he sunk to his knees, screaming wildly at the sky, the ground below him began to give way as the hillside collapse back into the sea.

7:15 P.M. May 16th, 2051.

Tokyo-3, Japan.

Rei had grabbed a Gatling Gun from the weapons catch, slinging a Pallet Gun over her Eva's shoulder as a backup weapon. She also had her Progressive Knife if the situation required-close-quarters combat. She was prepared for anything this new target could throw at her… or so she thought. The sounds of the beast tearing through the countryside on its way to her location soon became audible, and they were terrifying. Rei began to doubt herself for a moment, but she shook the thought out of her mind; she knew that she had a responsibility to end this creature, whatever it may be, and that it was beyond her own feelings on the matter.

Rei stood poised to strike as the sounds drew closer. Soon, she could see massive skyscrapers on the far side of the city begin to tumble, overtaken by a plume of smoke and debris as her quarry approached. The smoke cloud grew larger as the beast continued its path of destruction through the heart of the city. Finally the beast was in view. Masked behind a massive skyscraper, Rei could not make out the creature's form, but she knew he was there. Before she could react, the titan crashed straight through the building, debris and smoke clouding his figure as the building collapsed upon him. Rei clenched the trigger between her Eva's fingers, prepared to unload on the beast. The smoke around the massive intruder masked her view, but as it began to clear, she saw her quarry for all he was. He was like nothing Rei had ever seen, nothing like anyone at Nerv had ever seen. None of them were old enough to know, with the exception of the Gendo and Kozo.

Nerv HQ, Tokyo-3, Japan.

"What on Earth is that?" I rhetorically asked in a terrified tone.

"I've never seen anything so massive." Ritsuko shouted out.

"Of course you haven't, none of you are old enough to understand." The Commander interjected.

"Pardon, commander?" I asked.

"I said none of you are old enough to understand." Commander Ikari repeated.

"You are all too young to have experienced the wrath of this ancient alpha predator. We hoped he would never returned after what happened in 2023, but apparently that was never meant to be." Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki added, explaining what the Commander was too stubborn to say.

"So, this thing, it's come before?" I asked, a little startled.

"Yes. This thing, as you call it, was awakened in 1954 by atomic testings conducted by the United States in the South Pacific. Bikini Atoll, to be exact. He is known by many names, most notably the King of the Monsters. He is an unstoppable force of nature who cannot be tamed by the likes of man."

"Indeed, he is a threat unlike any other. No one has been able to stop him completely, not man nor beast. His name is infamous, I'm sure you've heard of it."

"I have no idea who or what you're talking about." I stated, still very puzzled.

"We call him Gojira."


End file.
